Darfur Network reports death of two policemen, five civilians in several attacks

The Darfur Network for Monitoring and Documentation reported this week that two policemen were killed, allegedly by followers of former janjaweed leader Musa Hilal, in Jebel Marra on August 4. In Nyala, South Darfur, a young man was shot dead and his body run over by a vehicle of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). On August 1, RSF soldiers killed a man and harassed women in Tullus. Three people from the Rwanda camp for the displaced in North Darfur were killed by armed robbers.

Two police officers were killed and two others injured in an attack on a convoy of three armed vehicles carrying members of the Sudanese army, police, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia near Golo in Jebel Marra last Wednesday.

The Darfur Network for Monitoring and Documentation (DNMD) reported yesterday that the joint force was on its way to Ragabat El Jamal, 20 kilometres south-west of Guldo, on the border with Nierteti locality, to secure the road for the passage of the vehicle of the executive director of Golo locality.

They were attacked by a group of armed men on motorcycles, who stole two of the vehicles, military equipment, and a large amount of cash money for the payment of employees of the Golo locality administration.

Central Darfur Police Chief Salah Omar El Tayeb confirmed the killing of two police officers and the injury of two others. He said that army forces stations in the state capital Zalingei were dispatched to the crime scene.

A reliable source from the area told the Darfur Network that the attack was carried out by forces affiliated with former janjaweed leader Musa Hilal, who is reportedly in control of the area around Ragabat El Jamal.

Waleed Abakar, the military spokesperson for the Sudan Liberation Movement under the leadership of Abdelwahid El Nur, that controls other parts of Jebel Marra, said in a phone call with the Network that the attack was carried out by “a well-known militia group”. He said that the leaders of the group are known by name and that the two stolen vehicles were later seen southwest of Kabkabiya in North Darfur.

On Sunday, Radio Dabanga reported briefly on the incident. The police said that the joint force was on “an official mission”.

Body run over

On August 4 as well, Mazen Osman (17) was killed by an element of the RSF Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Nyala, capital of South Darfur.

Sources told the DNMD that the victim was driving a rickshaw near a market in Nyala, when his vehicle was hit by a four-wheel drive Land Cruiser belonging to the RSF.

When Osman protested, the RSF driver shot three times at him. After the victim fell dead, he ran over the body a number of times.

By-standers chased down the RSF soldier who responded by firing at them, the sources said. They noted that the attacker previously killed three other people in a similar manner. His conduct had always gone unpunished.

The relatives of the victim carried the mutilated body to the home of the governor of South Darfur in a peaceful protest, demanding murderers to be brought to justice. The police then issued a statement saying that the RSF soldier was captured.

In another incident in Nyala on the same day, a woman was killed in her home.

The assailants justified their actions by accusing the victims of “interfering with RSF operations”

On the morning of August 1, a group of RSF soldiers killed Jabir Sheikh Aged (60), wounded two others, and sexually harassed women in the area of Sergeila, in Tullus locality, South Darfur. The assailants justified their actions by accusing the victims of “interfering with RSF operations”.

Armed robbery

In north-east Tawila, North Darfur, armed robbers attacked a group of displaced people who were on their way from Masal village to the Rwanda camp.  

They shot at the displaced who were riding on motorcycles. Aisha Adam (28) who was nine months pregnant, Abdallah Omar (45), and Abdeljabbar Hasan were killed instantly. Two others were wounded. The attackers then robbed them of their belongings.

The Darfur Network added that groups of gunmen are wreaking havoc in Tawila locality and are raiding homes and stealing cattle in the area.

Residents of Tawila told the DNMD that the withdrawal of the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) in December 2020 worsened the situation as it left a security vacuum. The locality of Tawila is one of the places that has gotten out of the control of the government of Gen Nimir Abdelrahman, and has become a colony of the janjaweed, they said.

The former UNAMID headquarters in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, was subjected to armed looting in April – the third incident in a few months.