Herdsmen pillage, threaten voluntary return towns in Darfur

Armed herdsmen threatened to attack and burn down villages west of Kabkabiya town, North Darfur, on Thursday, if the residents would not pay them a large amount of money.  A resident of Ardushuf, about 18 km west of Kabkabiya, told Radio Dabanga that the herders, “armed by the government”, demand SDG 8,000 ($1,393) as a compensation for the breaking of a leg of one of their animals, for which they blame the villagers.They also released their camels and other livestock on their farms. They did the same in the nearby Marghouba and Matawi villages. The villages are meant for displaced people who voluntarily return to cultivate the surrounding farmlands.The resident further reported that the herdsmen threatened to beat and kill them if they return to cultivate their lands. “The land is not meant for agriculture: it is meant for grazing, they told us.”He appealed to the authorities and the native administration of the herders to stop their attacks and protect the farmers, so they can cultivate the lands. Central Darfur ‘return’ town also attackedAlso on Thursday, pro-government militia members attacked Arola, a village for displaced people who voluntarily returned to their homeland in Wadi Salih locality, Central Darfur. The militiamen stole the food, tents, plastic sheets, and seeds, which were provided to the residents by the Darfur Regional Authority. They also took the people’s money, mobile phones, and other properties. File photo: Shepherds guide their cattle at the outskirts of Foro Baranga, West Darfur (Albert González Farran/Unamid)