Darfur states start enforcing arms collection

In South and East Darfur, the forced collection of weapons has resulted in the seizure of numbers of heavy weapons from civilians and militiamen, including machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

The governor of East Darfur, Anas Omar, announced that those who discover “large amounts of weapons hidden in any part of the state” will be rewarded with “great incentives”. Here the second part of the nationwide disarmament campaign or the forced collection of weapons started on Sunday.

According to chief of police Seifeldin Abdelrahman security and military forces have collected a number of heavy weapons. He appealed to residents to exercise restraint and not to become involved in clashes with military forces.

In Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, the governor said 31 outlaws were arrested in Buram locality in the context of the arms collection. Governor Adam El Faki announced they have been transferred to Nyala during a speech he held in Sergeila in Tullus locality.

“The forces are ready to carry out the forcible collection of weapons starting Monday. They will crack down and raid any area or district to search for weapons.”

The nazir (leader) of the Fellata tribe's native administration, Yousif El Samani, confirmed that the native administration is committed to the disarmament activities and announced the launch of a major collection in Tullus and Dimso localities next week.

Military support

In total, 12,500 Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militiamen have been deployed to North Darfur with the purpose to assist in the forced collection of illegal weapons from civilians and the control of illegal vehicles. The deadline for people to voluntarily hand in their weapons ends on Thursday.

The arrival of the paramilitary force, operating with the title 'New Dawn', may lead to an explosion of the situation in North Darfur, claimed the Revolutionary Awakening Council (RAC) led by the former janjaweed leader Musa Hilal. “The militias of the 'New Dawn' arrived in Kutum yesterday. But they do not intimidate us, and we are ready to confront them if they attack our sites,” the movement announced earlier this week.