Displaced people attacked in North Darfur camp

A group of gunmen attacked residents of Kassab camp for displaced people in Kutum locality in North Darfur on Wednesday.

Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that a group of herders, driving five cars while other herdsmen rode on camels and horses, stormed the northern part of Kassab camp, in search of items they had lost or they claimed were stolen from them.

They beat several people, including a woman, and threatened to burn the camp if their missing belongings were not recovered. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that the camp's residents appealed to the authorities in Kutum, who deployed military, security and police forces to respond to the attackers.

A camp sheikh told Radio Dabanga that the police informed them that the herders claimed to have lost SDG8,000 ($168) and four telephones.

He pointed out that a meeting will be held on Saturday in Kutum, which includes leaders of camp sheikhs, police and pastoralists, to discuss the problem and come with solutions.

In February, displaced people in Kutum locality in North Darfur complained about the escalation of attacks by herders who trespass with their livestock into gardens and orchards.

“A group of herders riding camels and motorcycles prevented us from farming and expelled us from the area where we collect wood and straw, in the past few weeks,” a camp resident said at the time.

Tensions over land and pastures have often caused clashes between farmers in the region of the Jebel Marra mountains that stretch into North Darfur, and militant herders who want to use their farms as pasture. Displaced people returning to their area of origin complain about new settlers who occupy their villages.