‘Civilians tortured, killed for supporting rebels’ in North Darfur: sources

A resident of Kenjara village in North Darfur was allegedly tortured and shot dead in a camp of the Central Reserve Forces (known as Abu Tira) in Tawila on Saturday. Sources affirmed such executions have been occurring often in the area.Witnesses told Radio Dabanga on Tuesday that Nasser Omar was travelling from El Fasher to Tawila. When he arrived at the gate of the camp where he lives, government forces arrested him. They then took him to a garrison that the Abu Tira, under the command of Major Al Hadi, share with government forces.The sources said that Omar was accused of ‘supporting rebel groups’. Government soldiers first tortured him severely before shooting him and tossing his body into a street in Tawila.According to several witnesses, Omar’s fate at the hand of government forces and Abu Tira mirrors that of Yahiya Haroun from the Serafaya area and Bahr Al Din Musa from Khartoum Jedid area, south of Tawila last month.“They were also arrested when they arrived in Tawila and were killed in exactly the same way and for the same allegations,” said a witness, stressing that the victims were just ordinary citizens going shopping. “They did not belong to any rebel movement, nor were they involved in any criminal activities.”The witnesses criticized the prevalence of random executions in the area, where civilians are isolated and liquidated without any charge or trial.They appealed to the UN to intervene immediately to protect civilians from the Abu Tira and Government force ‘kangaroo courts’.File photo: Sudan Armed Forces