Herdsmen, rebel fighters clash in Tawila, North Darfur

Fierce fighting broke out between militant herdsmen and rebel fighters in Tawila locality in North Darfur today.

Large groups of herders gathered in the area near Katur village, west of Tabit, the past few days, after an attack on a nomads’ settlement near Tawila, whereby three people were killed, and about 1,000 camels and cows were stolen on Wednesday.

Villagers reported to Radio Dabanga from Katur today that the gunmen who attacked the settlement were rebel combatants. They could not say from which rebel movement.

On Saturday, hundreds of herdsmen riding camels and horses, others in seven Land Cruisers mounted with Dushka machineguns arrived in the area, they said.

The fighting ended with the withdrawal of the herders. When they retreated, they took all the livestock from the surrounding villages. Those who resisted were shot.

Shamseldin Saleh (40) years from Gabes village, Ismail Yagoub (33) from El Faki Idris village, Yagoub Haroun (37) of Doba village, and Kaltoum Abdelrahman (28) years from Angeirogi village, were killed.

The herders took Ali Abdellatif (35) from Angeirogi, Hamid Adam Ibrahim (17) from the village of Tamra, and Hawa Hussein Juma (14) from El Faki Hamid village with them.

The sources said that the fighting led to an exodus of the villagers in the area. They sought military protection in Katur village.