Gunmen wreak havoc in North and Central Darfur

The past days have seen various attacks against local sedentary farmers and displaced people by gunmen and herding militias in Darfur. Two villages in North Darfur were set on fire.

Mohamed Adam was shot dead by a group of gunmen west of North Darfur capital El Fasher yesterday evening.

On Wednesday afternoon, armed men set fire to the villages of Zagalona and Um Geigo in the Dar El Salaam locality in North Darfur.

People from the area told Radio Dabanga that Zagalona was completely burned down whilst parts of Um Geigo survived the torching.

The witnesses pointed out that the joint forces did not intervene, even though the fire continued for a significant amount of time.

They also explained that the aim of burning the two villages is to ensure that their residents, who were displaced months ago due to militia attacks, do not return.

The people further explained that attacks on villages in Dar El Salaam and Tawila are continuing for more than five days now.

The governor of North Darfur, Nimr Abdelrahman, has launched a joint force in the Abu Zereiga area about a month ago and delegated broad powers to the forces to protect civilians in accordance with the Emergency Law.

People in North Darfur have expressed their discontent with the lack of security arrangements and their opposition to the military coup regime, led by Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) Commander Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Commander   Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemeti’ Dagalo.

At the same time, local rebel movements have been told to move their forces away from towns,

Central Darfur shooting

Displaced person Abdelhakam Arbab (19) was killed in the Omda neighbourhood of Nierteti, Central Darfur, by an armed man wearing civilian clothes on Wednesday evening.

Adam Okar told Radio Dabanga that the secondary school student was killed in front of his house while he was sitting there with his friends. He explained that the gunman shot him, wounding him in the mouth and killing him instantly.

Central Darfur has also seen a fair amount of violence recently, often perpetrated by herdsmen.

Harassment of farmers and displaced people by herders is commonplace in Darfur. During the war, a genocide took place against indigenous farmers by militant Arab herders supported by the regime of ousted dictator Omar Al Bashir. As Janjaweed militias, they killed many African farmers. In recent years, attacks by herdsmen against Darfur’s farmers and non-Arab herding groups have continued, resulting in many deaths.

Last year, people warned that Darfur gunmen 'see the coup as a license to resume attacks’.