Cold kills three children hiding in Jebel Marra

The current wave of cold weather in East Jebel Marra has claimed the lives of three children. They were hiding in the mountains, 20 kilometres south of Fanga. Their families fled from the Sayounga, Terenga and Debanyra areas after their villages were attacked last week.

A witness told Radio Dabanga on Tuesday of freezing night-time temperatures in the mountains, where those who fled are living without any shelter. Mutasim Ibrahim Hamed (5), Mudesir Hassan Mousa (3), and Hanan Yousef (2) have all died of exposure.

“People fled in whatever they were wearing when the attacks started, so most do not have sufficient clothing to protect them from the biting cold. This is compounding the tragedy,” today’s witness said.

Attack

As previously reported by Radio Dabanga, at 7 am on Wednesday 30 December, the area was attacked by the Sudanese Army, supported by paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and backed by intensive air and artillery bombardments.

The assault came from two directions. One force, coming from Central Darfur, attacked the area from the west. It consisted of about 120 vehicles, eight tanks, and eight large wagons. The second force that came from the north-east, consisted of 85 vehicles, five tanks, and seven large wagons.