Darfur civilians flee as more bombs fall on Jebel Marra

The Sudanese Air Force bombed areas in Jebel Marra yesterday, according to the Sudan Liberation Movement under the leadership of Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW).

Waleed Abakar, the movement’s military spokesman, told Radio Dabanga that on Tuesday the Sudanese Air Force dropped bombs at areas of Turung Tawra and Tugut Turti in southern Jebel Marra.

He said the aerial bombardment caused great losses and forced residents to flee to the valleys and mountain foothills.

He confirmed that on Monday army and militia forces stationed in the area of Kara in East Jebel Marra bombed the areas of Gorolang Banje, Sara, and Sabun El Fagur, which led to the flight of civilians to caves and mountain tops.

On Sunday, the Sudanese Defence Minister appeared before the Parliament in Khartoum following the urgent issue of violence in Jebel Marra and the shooting of civilians.

Questions in Parliament

MP Siham Hasan said in an interview with Radio Dabanga that the minister responded to the questions raised by the MPs and provided a lot of explanation and information about what happened and is happening in Jebel Marra.

She added that the minister held the state security committee responsible for the events that took place and promised to work for the programme of extending security, resolving the tribal conflicts and continue to implement the plan to collect weapons.

Hasan explained that she believes that the process of collecting weapons is not enough which itself contributes to the violations against civilians and have a significant impact in increasing skirmishes and friction between different components.

Aisha Ibrahim (45) lost her hand and Ibrahim Eisa (12) was wounded by a bomb fired from the sites of government forces stationed at Kara area in East Jebel Marra on Monday.

A relative of Ibrahim told Radio Dabanga that on Monday evening the incidents took place after an army force backed by the Rapid Support Forces stationed at Kara area, fired heavy weapons north of Kalokitting area for 15 minutes.

They said that one of those shells fell on a group of civilians fleeing from Kara in one of the valleys.

Unamid

As reported by Radio Dabanga this week, Unamid Joint Soeciual Representative Jeremiah Mamabolo has expressed his concerns about the situation in Jebel Marra after a two-day visit to the area.

Unamid reported in a press briefing that Mamabolo travelled by road to Golo in the centre of the Jebel Marra last week, to oversee progress on the establishment of the Mission’s temporary operating base in the area.