Gunmen attack Central Darfur camp

An armed group attacked a camp near Zalingei, Central Darfur, over a dispute between one of their members and displaced people on Sunday. One camp resident was wounded and two others have been abducted.

The group stormed Hamidiya camp at 9am, using four-wheel-drive vehicles and almost 50 motorcycles, and opened fire into the air, a camp coordinator reported to Radio Dabanga. They also entered their livestock onto the farms of the displaced people around Hamidiya.

Coordinator of the camps in Central Darfur, El Shafie Abdallah told Radio Dabanga that Maher Ibrahim Abdel Shaafi was wounded. Adam Mohamed Musa and Idris Yousif Omar were abducted during the attack.

'People invited him for breakfast, but the man panicked.'

The incident occurred against the backdrop of a member of the armed group who passed Hamidiya at the time of iftar (break the fast of Ramadan). Abdallah: “People of the camp tried to stop him for iftar, but the man panicked and drove into a wall. He fled, leaving his motorcycle behind. Displaced people then handed the motorcycle to the camp's administration.”

However the owner went to the police to file a complaint, claiming that the displaced people assaulted him and stripped him of his motorcycle and money, Abdallah said. The attack on Sunday morning is the result of the anger of the owner and his comrades, according to the coordinator.

Cattle theft

Gunmen stole about 71 sheep, donkeys and goats from Um Traitir, 6 kilometres south of Tabit, in North Darfur's Tawila locality on Sunday.

A witness told Radio Dabanga that on Sunday at 2 a.m., seven gunmen on camels entered the village at night and opened fire into the air. They stole the livestock which was then in Um Traitir, and fled.

A theft similar to what happened in Um Traitir was carried out by another armed group at Gallab area, north of Tabit, on Friday night. The militant group stole about 200 sheep and goats.