Militia raids spread panic among Nyala displaced in South Darfur

Pro-government militiamen reportedly stormed El Salam camp in a Land Cruiser on Tuesday night, under the pretext of retrieving property of a merchant stolen within the site located near Nyala in South Darfur. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, Sheikh Mahjoub Adam Tabaldiya said that when members of the militia broke into the camp, the police forces exchanged fire with them. “This terrorized the displaced,” the sheikh said. “Some militiamen then tried to escape from the camp with a number of bags of beans they had stolen.” Sheikh Tabaldiya warned that the camp “might collapse under the multiplicity of militia attacks and repeated storming”. He demanded that “Unamid troops and police perform their duty in protecting the displaced”. “Terror and panic” reportedly reigned among the citizens of Nyala throughout Tuesday night due to a heavy exchange of gunfire between militiamen and government forces who were in pursuit of militiamen who had stolen the car of the Commissioner of Niteaga locality from in front of Nyala hospital, where it was parked. Witnesses reported from Nyala that the armed pursuit reached the neighbourhood of Alwuhda (known as Texas) where the government troops managed to recover the car. The citizens of the city of Nyala called the government to immediately provide security in the city. File photo: Nyala hospital Related: Breaking: Nyala locked-down after fighting, looting in South Darfur capital (4 July 2013)