Militiamen kill five men, steal cattle in North Darfur

Five people were shot dead and eight were injured in an attack by militiamen in the area of Sani, north of Kutum in North Darfur, on Thursday. Dozens of cattle were stolen in Um Baru locality when militiamen plundered a village.

Po-government militia members, driving in nine vehicles, entered Sani at 11am. They attacked a number of pastors in Sani and killed Abakr Ibrahim Tumbuk, Abaker Izeldin Mousa Jad, Abdallah Mohamed Imam Jad, Adam Saadalnu Jaalis, Abdallah Ibrahim Nafi. Haroun Abdelshafee Younis, Abdallah Idris Hasabo, Saleh Younis Adam, Shumen Abdallah, and Abdallah Rajab sustained injuries, Omda Abdelnabi Suleiman reported to Dabanga Sudan.

Militiamen also stormed El Anbar valley in Um Baru locality that day. The men attacked and wounded Mohamed Harun Bosh, Ibrahim Abdallah and Mohamed Adam. They left after stealing dozens of cattle, witnesses told Dabanga Sudan. The group moved in 25 vehicles.

"Their new tactic is to divide themselves into two groups: one heads into the village to steal money, the other takes the livestock."

A witness in Um Baru said that pro-government militiamen expropriated the areas north of Kutum and in Um Baru and Karnoi localities, in the west of North Darfur. “They do so by murdering, raping and displacing the people,” the witness said.

He revealed that he witnessed the militiamen using a new tactic to plunder towns. “They move in vehicles mounted with with automatic weapons, and then divide themselves into two groups. The first group heads directly to the villages to steal the money and properties of the residents. The second group moves to the pasture and steal the livestock in lorries, while they are guarded by gunmen in Land Cruisers.”

The people and livestock owners who fled the attacks renewed their appeal to the authorities to stop the abuses by the government-backed militia and to bring those involved in the juvenile justice.