Insurgent militia enters West Darfur capital

Shops closed their doors and citizens fled to their homes on Monday, when two groups of militiamen in more than 60 armoured Land Cruisers, mounted with various weapons, entered El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur. An infantry commander ordered them to leave immediately, which they did. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, multiple sources from El Geneina reported that a group of militiamen, under the command of Brigadier Mohamed Abdel Rahim Shukartallah, entered the town from the southern side at about 12am on Monday. Another group led by militia leader Hussein Wishelbagar, entered El Geneina from the west. “In response, the commander of infantry battalion 15 at Ardamata, arrived with tanks and armoured vehicles, and ordered his forces to drive-off the militiamen if they would not leave El Geneina within 40 minutes. The militia forces indeed left before the deadline expired.” The sources estimated the number of militiamen at more than 2,000. “All of them belong to Arab tribes. They were recruited about one month ago.” “A dispute broke out between the commander of battalion 15 and Brig. Shukartallah after militia elements began assaulting and killing citizens in the area. The infantry commander summoned Shukartallah for this reason. The colonel, however, refused to appear, and conversely entered El Geneina on Monday, showing-off his forces.” Another source said that the Brigadier revolted “because he was not satisfied with the remuneration given for his services”. “He gathered already disgruntled militiamen under the pretext of being marginalised by Khartoum that is now supporting the Rapid Support militias, and promised them financial and materiel gains, in addition to military ranks.“ The sources all pointed to the fact that Shukartallah has been one of the Janjaweed leaders since the outbreak of the war in Darfur in 2003. File photo: Militiamen (Beliefnet)