Herder-farmer tension builds in North Darfur’s Tawila

On Monday, armed herdsmen opened fire and seriously wounded farmer Adam Ahmad and his wife at Um Gafalo area in the south of Tawila locality in North Darfur.

Omda Musa Mukhtar Bosh told Radio Dabanga that a group of armed herdsmen drove their livestock onto the farm of Adam Ahmed. When the farmer confronted them, they shot him and his wife, seriously wounding both of them.

Omda Bosh said that police arrested one of the suspects, but released him as when they found him holding a military ID.

Omda Bosh also spoke of the flight of farmers from the areas of Um Gafalo, Suswa, Gallab, Um Arda, Kaima, and Bawabet Sigilli as a result of attacks by militant herdsmen. He says that large tracts are farmland have been destroyed or are not being tended, because the farmers have been threatened with death by the herdsmen, who drive their camels on farms by force of arms with impunity.

He said that the farmers from those areas have been displaced to camps in Tawila, Zamzam, and El Fasher.

The locality’s farmers have submitted a memorandum to the Commissioner, Adam Yagoub, revealing the scale of damage and losses caused by the livestock of the herders. They include 300 Muhkammas planted with corn, groundnuts, sesame, sorghum, okra, watermelons, vegetables, and fruit.

Compensation

The locality Commissioner has promised to compensate the farmers, however, the Sheikh of the herdsmen of the Shattiya tribe, Yagoub Saboun Mugaddam has challenged Commissioner Adam Yagoub and the military garrison commander Major Mohamed El Nur.

He has vowed that the herdsmen will not pay a penny to the farmers nor let anyone from the armed forces or government impound their camels and livestock.