Herdsman dies as Darfur’s East Jebel Marra bombed, shelled

Aerial bombardments on East Jebel Marra led to the death of a 17-year-old herdsman and a large number of cattle on Tuesday. Government forces in Tabit, North Darfur, shelled the area north of Tabit, killing and wounding livestock on Monday. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, sources from the region said that at about 3.30pm an Antonov dropped seven bombs on the area north of Dubo El Omda, one on Mashrou Abu Zeid, and seven on Hafir Kutur. The bombing of the well at Hafir Kutur led to the killing of 75 sheep and goats, 30 camels, and 15 cows, as well as herdsman Abdel Majid Haroun Adam (17) who hid between the livestock when he heard the sound of the Antonov. Six of his colleagues escaped the same fate. They fled from the well and hid south of the valley just before the bombardments took place. When they returned to the well, they only found Adam’s head and parts of his arm, the sources added. The sources also reported that on Monday, near midnight, “government forces in Tabit started shelling the area 2km north of Tabit, killing and wounding about 26 sheep. The sources again appealed via Radio Dabanga to the international community to pressure the government of Sudan to halt the “random air raids” on civilians and their property in East Jebel Marra, other areas in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile. File photo (Albert González Farran/Unamid) Related:Sudanese army bombs, plunders villages in Darfur’s East Jebel Marra (20 January 2014)Sudanese air raid in East Jebel Marra kills man (10 January 2014)Intensive air raids on Darfur’s East Jebel Marra (29 December 2014)