‘Militias guilty of atrocities in East Darfur’: witnesses
Witnesses allege that government militias committed various atrocities against civilians in Labado and Muhajeriya in East Darfur following the withdrawal of Sudan Liberation Army-Minni Minawi (SLA-MM) forces from the area.On 6 April, SLA-MM militants attacked the two strategically located towns Labado and Muhajeriya in East Darfur. The Sudanese Army (SAF) regained control as the rebel forces withdrew ten days later.According to civilians who fled the fighting to camps for the displaced including El Neem near Ed Daein, capital of East Darfur, Zamzam near North Darfur’s capital El Fasher, as well as the camps around Nyala in South Darfur, the “government militias shot dozens of civilians, and then pillaged markets, properties and homes before loading their loot onto vehicles”.The witnesses estimate the value of the pillaged property at more than SDG30 billion ($7 billion), not counting hundreds of head of livestock that were rustled after the SLA-MM withdrawal. One witness who fled Labado to camp Zamzam told Radio Dabanga that he had seen the murder of about sixty people, including children, women and the elderly. During his flight, he also saw at least three women with their children dead of thirst.“I saw the body of one woman with three children, another with four children and another with six children. They had all died of thirst. The crimes committed by the militias were indescribably terrible, and could not be allowed anywhere in the world,” he said.He added that the arrival of more than 100 families from Labado and Muhajeriya at Zamzam has deepened the humanitarian crisis at the camp. Pointing out that these people have lost everything, he appealed to all national and international organisations to assist the families, who are now living in the open without food or shelter.Map: Civilian displacement from Muhajeriya and Labado – OCHA (sources: HAC, Unamid and humanitarian agencies) Related: UN: East Darfur displaced swell by 10k in one week (8 May 2013)
Witnesses allege that government militias committed various atrocities against civilians in Labado and Muhajeriya in East Darfur following the withdrawal of Sudan Liberation Army-Minni Minawi (SLA-MM) forces from the area.
On 6 April, SLA-MM militants attacked the two strategically located towns Labado and Muhajeriya in East Darfur. The Sudanese Army (SAF) regained control as the rebel forces withdrew ten days later.
According to civilians who fled the fighting to camps for the displaced including El Neem near Ed Daein, capital of East Darfur, Zamzam near North Darfur’s capital El Fasher, as well as the camps around Nyala in South Darfur, the “government militias shot dozens of civilians, and then pillaged markets, properties and homes before loading their loot onto vehicles”.
The witnesses estimate the value of the pillaged property at more than SDG30 billion ($7 billion), not counting hundreds of head of livestock that were rustled after the SLA-MM withdrawal. One witness who fled Labado to camp Zamzam told Radio Dabanga that he had seen the murder of about sixty people, including children, women and the elderly. During his flight, he also saw at least three women with their children dead of thirst.
“I saw the body of one woman with three children, another with four children and another with six children. They had all died of thirst. The crimes committed by the militias were indescribably terrible, and could not be allowed anywhere in the world,” he said.
He added that the arrival of more than 100 families from Labado and Muhajeriya at Zamzam has deepened the humanitarian crisis at the camp. Pointing out that these people have lost everything, he appealed to all national and international organisations to assist the families, who are now living in the open without food or shelter.
Map: Civilian displacement from Muhajeriya and Labado – OCHA (sources: HAC, Unamid and humanitarian agencies)
Related: UN: East Darfur displaced swell by 10k in one week (8 May 2013)
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