Darfur court sentenced to death 18 fighters

A special court for crimes in Darfur sentenced eighteen defendants to death on Thursday, for their involvement in clashes with the Sudanese armed and paramilitary forces in North Darfur in March last year.

The defendants have been convicted of undermining the constitutional order, inciting violence against the state, promoting opposition against the regime, and the illegal possession of weapons.

A lawyer of the defence team, Abdallah Mahjoub, complained to Radio Dabanga that the court has not payed any attention to any of the evidence that the defence team presented.

“We came with a large number of witnesses, but the court did not consider their testimonies,” the lawyer said. “It issued its ruling against the defendants.”

He said that they will present an appeal within seven days.

The eighteen persons were arrested in March last year, during battles between armed movements and members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and soldiers of the Sudan Armed Forces during clashes in Donki Baashim, Kutum locality, in the area commonly known as East Jebel Marra. 

Large displacements

The joint Sudan Liberation Movements led by Minni Minawi and Abdel Wahid El Nur went into fierce battle against government troops in February and March 2014. Clashes erupted in Donki Baashim, Kulkul in El Fasher locality, and around Nyala city. It was the first time that the RSF were deployed in the Darfur region, for the dry season's military campaign against the armed movements. The forces stand under the command of the National Intelligence and Security Services.

Beside battling the rebels, the RSF attacked and raided dozens of villages in East Jebel Marra and around Nyala, leading to a large-scale wave of new displacements to the camps. 

At the end of March, RSF members attacked the Khor Abeche camp for displaced people in South Darfur, with the purpose to destroy it entirely. Eyewitnesses told the station that the militias looted all belongings and livestock of the displaced, destroyed water wells, and torched a hospital, homes and other buildings. The residents, about 3,000 people, fled to the adjacent Unamid team site for protection.

Related:

Background: Who are the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan? (9 September 2015)

Correction 27/11/2015 16:30: Radio Dabanga initially received the report that seventeen defendants were convicted. This has been adjusted to eighteen.