Company’s payroll stolen in Nyala, South Darfur

A SDG33,800 cash payroll was stolen from the Teens Company for Health Products in downtown Nyala, capital of South Darfur on Monday. More than seven gunmen in two Land Cruisers raided the premises of Teens Company in El Nahda district. They stole SDG33,800 ($5,900), destined for the staff’s salaries, Yousif El Taher, the company’s financial director told Radio Dabanga.   “On their way to the finance department, they threatened employees, taking their mobile telephones. The finance officer had just started to pay the employees’ salaries. They beat him with rifle butts until he lost consciousness. The thieves then took the bag with the money from his hands, and fled.” Staff salaries The Governor of South Darfur State announced that elements of the paramilitary Popular Defence Forces (PDF) were behind last week’s killing of the Commissioner of Katila locality. Maj. Gen. Adam Mahmoud Jarelnabi, told the press on Monday that nine PDF troops were involved in the attack on Abdallah Yasin.Commissioner Yasin was killed in an ambush on 6 July, on his way from Nyala to Katila with the salaries of the locality’s staff. Lawlessness Residents and people working in Nyala have been complaining about the rampant insecurity for years. The situation, however, has become worse in the past months, with gunmen stealing large amounts in broad daylight. Last week, SDG70,000 ($12,200) was stolen from the distribution centre of the Mamoun El Bireir factories in South Darfur’s capital in broad daylight. In May, gunmen made-off with a SDG2.2 million ($386,000) payroll for judicial staff in Nyala. A South Darfur State minister recently described the security situation in Nyala as “beyond control of the central and state governments”. A number of young people in Nyala have begun arming themselves to protect residential sites and shops from the assaults and robberies by militiamen.  File photo: Militiamen in Darfur Related:‘Militias, banditry source of major concern in Darfur’: Unamid head (14 July 2014) Paramilitary convoy attacked, coordinator killed in South Darfur (13 July 2014) 3,000 teachers in South Darfur’s Nyala request transfer (11 July 2014) SDG70,000 heist in South Darfur (8 July 2014)Katila Commissioner killed in South Darfur ambush (8 July 2014) Hotelier kidnapped in South Darfur capital (23 June 2014) ‘Plans to fight rampant insecurity in South Darfur’: Governor (17 June 2014)