Elites associated with former Al Bashir regime call on West Darfur gov to resign

A group of Darfur elites has called on West Darfur wali (governor), Mohamed El Doma, to resign. Residents of El Geneina continue to report thefts and lootings despite the presence of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in El Geneina, where the humanitarian situation is “deteriorating” according to the state government.

The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) said that a group of elites from Darfur affiliated with the former regime and other armed movements has told El Doma to resign. The group agreed to call for the governor to step down, during a meeting in Khartoum yesterday. El Doma received a call “from a party not empowered to appoint or dismiss governors,” telling him to resign, according the DBA statement.

The DBA condemned what it described as exploitation and condemned those who demanded the removal of the governor. El Doma called on the citizens of West Darfur to live in peace and preserve the social fabric, in a video statement yesterday. He said that the problems that occur in the state can be addressed without any dictation from any party outside the state. He affirmed that the citizens of the state are supposed to live together and there is no room for excluding any ethnic group or tribe.

The state government of West Darfur described the humanitarian situation in El Geneina as ‘‘deteriorating’’. Doctor Ahmed Ishag Yaqoub, a consultant for humanitarian affairs in West Darfur, said that the population of El Geneina, which is about 900,000, is suffering from lack of supplies and materials.

Roads and air travel into the state have been blocked for almost two weeks, due to Arab tribes in El Geneina staging a sit-in, demanding the dismissal of El Doma, the removal of the camps for displaced people from the city, and the restructuring of the state police force.

Delegation issues

The Displaced People Gathering in El Geneina confirmed that since the beginning of the siege of El Geneina, thefts and burglaries have continued despite the presence of the RSF.

In a statement, the gathering stated that the joint delegation of the Transitional Sovereignty Council and the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) which arrived on Wednesday has the intention of supporting the sit-in protestors and to implementing their demands, rather than standing up for issues of the displaced.

The statement indicated that the delegation only wants to hear voices in support of the sit-in protesters and the former regime, with the aim of dismissing the governor and dismantling the camps. The delegation’s recognition of the legality of the sit-in “gave them the green light to continue their siege on the city,” according to the statement.

Investigation of attacks

The Darfur lawyers also called on the senior public prosecutor to investigate the events that took place in El Geneina and to include all relevant authorities, starting with the military component of the Sovereignty Council and the governor of West Darfur.

The killing of 14 and wounding of 167 others in El Geneina locality in West Darfur in January “is attributable to the inability of the authorities to protect the people in the state and the impunity government-backed militiamen enjoy,” said the DBA on January 25.

The DBA clarified that it has formed its own investigation committee, following a preliminary invesitgation. It will publish its report to the public as soon as the work of its committee is completed.