Militiamen torture firewood collectors in North Darfur

Pro-government militiamen ambushed and injured a number of displaced people from Kassab camp in North Darfur’s Kutum locality, on Wednesday. One of the victims told Radio Dabanga that the militiamen were driving a vehicle while others were riding on the backs of camels and horses. They ambushed the displaced who were collecting firewood 4 km east from the camp, and severely beat them with rifle butts and whips. The gunmen also ordered the displaced to take off their clothes, after which they had to lie down with their bellies exposed on the hot sand, and were hung on tree branches. “The militants continued torturing us from 10 am to 4 pm,” the witness revealed. A local rescue team managed to untie their robes and take them down from the tree. The sheikh of Kassab camp, El Taher Ismail, reported that attacks against displaced people by pro-government militiamen have increased in the past few days. File photo: Women carrying firewood in Darfur Related: Unamid moves bases from North Darfur camps (25 May 2014) 151 displaced families reach Kassab camp, North Darfur (11 May 2014)