Gunmen kill one in armed attacks, robbery in Darfur

One man was shot dead by gunmen in Tawila locality, North Darfur, on Thursday evening. Armed herders attacked farmers in three valleys in Central Darfur. A shop owner in one of the Gireida camps is in critical condition after an armed robbery.

A witness reported to Radio Dabanga that pro-government militiamen attacked the village Sewisewa, 30 km south of Tawila town, at 9 pm. “They entered the village on about 45 camels, shot dead Adam Nurin Muhamad, and beat other villagers. A number of them sustained injuries.”

“Three hundred houses” in Sewisiwa were torched and the militiamen took the money, livestock, and other property from residents. The attackers looted a basic school in the village and torched it afterwards.

The witness, who has fled the village with other residents, said he could not determine the exact number of casualties because many villagers have fled into different directions.

The attack comes less than a week after the raids on two other villages south of Tawila by militiamen: Kunjara North and Kunjara South. An unknown number of villagers were injured, two women were gang-raped and large tracts of farmlands were destroyed in the area traditionally considered part of East Jebel Marra. 

Attack on farmers

Camel herders assaulted farmers in the valleys (wadis) of Kurum Ban, Selei, and Fassi, in Central Darfur on Friday. Seven farmers sustained injuries.

A witness from the area said that the armed herders reached the wadis with their camels and beat and whipped the farmers who were working there. They chased the farmers away and released their livestock on the farms.

Farmers Hasabu Adam Abdelkarim and Hawa Yahya Eisa were badly wounded by the herders and are in El Geneina hospital for treatment. Suleiman Hassan, Mohamed Semendi, Kaltom Hassan, Ismail Reagan, and Nuredin Mohamed were reportedly also injured.

Farmers in South Darfur, North Darfur, and in East Jebel Marra have repeatedly complained about the continued attacks of militant herders on their farms. Crops were lost because farmers fled their lands in fear or the livestock of herders destroyed them.

Armed robbery

In Gireida locality, robbers shot a displaced man inside his shop on Thursday night. The man is in a critical condition.

A witness in the Sakr camp for displaced people reported to the radio station that four armed men entered a phone and credit shop around 10 pm and opened fire on shop owner Ali Abdelkarim Mohamed. They stole ten mobile phones and stacks of credit cards.

Ali Abdelkarim stustained bullet wounds in his shoulder, chest, and stomach, and is in the hospital for treatment.

The witness said that the incident was reported to the police, but that it has not moved to track down the culprits.