Gunmen retaliate after S Darfur residents burn their checkpoint

Unhappy with the rising fees of the “protection money” demanded by militias, residents of Kass locality in South Darfur burned one of the checkpoints set up by gunmen to collect the cash. In retaliation, militants started firing gunshots in the air which led to the cancelation of a weekly market in Burunga, south of Kass city.   Onlookers who spoke to Radio Dabanga disclosed these militias normally charge protection money from market-goers who come from Burunga and surrounding villages. They added the insurgents have various posts set up at the market and on the roads leading to it to receive their payments. Although fees vary, the gunmen decided this week to double the tariffs causing indignation among the population, a source recounted, adding many people decided not pay them. With whips and rifle butts militias started beating citizens who fled in fear leading to the market’s cancellation.Radio Dabanga file photo: Kass market