‘Current security measures not enough’: South Darfur Chamber of Commerce

The emergency measures taken to stabilise the security situation in South Darfur need to be reconsidered and extended, according to the head of the state's Chamber of Commerce. The authorities of Central Darfur recently adopted similar measures in the state.

In response to recent robberies, the South Darfur Chamber of Commerce director, Musa Abdelazeem, told the press in Nyala on Sunday that the Ibn Auf battalion should be re-activated to protect the traders in Nyala.

He pointed out that the rampant insecurity in South Darfur is seriously hampering new investments.

A Corolla vehicle belonging to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was hijacked north of El Malaja market in the South Darfur capital last week. In a separate incident, a trader was robbed of his money and mobile telephone in Nyala’s El Masani district.

In July 2014, the South Darfur authorities imposed a number of emergency measures in an attempt to curb the increasing lawlessness in the state. An Emergency Court was established in August, to speedily try offenders of the measures that banned unregistered vehicles, the wearing of a turban covering the face (kadamool), the carrying of weapons by civilians, and riding a motorcycle by more than one person.

Central Darfur

The Council of Ministers of Central Darfur has recently imposed similar security measures. Apart from prohibiting the use of unlicensed vehicles and the wearing of the kadamool, public and private parties can only take place with permission from the authorities.

The Governor of Central Darfur, Jaafar Abdelhakam, said in a press conference on Saturday that the measures exclude vehicles and motorcycles used by the regular forces and government employees

 “The measures, based on the Sharia law, were taken in response to the wishes of the citizens and to combat negative phenomena that cause chaos in the society,” he explained.

He further said that the rampant insecurity in Central Darfur “has deprived the state of major revenues”.