Displaced ‘reject Central Darfur model villages’: Sheikh

The displaced inhabitants of the camps in Saraf Omra in North Darfur have rejected efforts by the neighbouring state of Central Darfur to establish model villages on the belt around south Barreigh valley. The basis of their rejection, the camp leadership told Radio Dabanga, is that the move is aimed “to change the demographic map of the region and blur the villages that have been forcibly evacuated.”“The authorities and some native administrators began a few days ago to plan model villages on the belt located south of the Barreigh valley in Central Darfur state, specifically the villages of Fassi, Molem and Kulkul,” a camp sheikh said. “The displaced people for the Saraf Omra camps are rejecting this step because it is designed to change the population map of the region and erase landmarks of the villages that have been deserted,” he explained. “We demand that the Central Darfur authorities stop stealing the lands of the displaced people of Darfur.” The sheikh also appealed to the UN to intervene “to protect their lands”. File photo