Militias’ looting of South Darfur camp continues

Pro-government militias looted and set fire on a health centre and a kindergarten in Khor Abeche camp for internally displaced people in Niteaga locality, South Darfur, on Wednesday. It is the sixth consecutive day that militias attacked the camp.Dr Ismail Hussein Fadul, Member of Parliament for the Khor Abeche constituency, told Radio Dabanga that the displaced people living in Khor Abeche, totalling more than 2,000, refused to receive an aid relief convoy from Niteaga. The convoy was headed by Commissioner Osman Jibril and accompanied by militias driving in cars and others riding on camels. “These very militias were accused of committing acts of murder, kidnapping, looting and arson last Saturday, together with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by Mohamed ‘Hemeti’ Hamdan.” He added that a delegation of the displaced persons notified Jibril of their readiness to receive him alone, while they strongly refused the reception of “the militias which had killed, looted and burned their homes”. Health centre, kindergarten destroyed Following this decision, the militias looted and set fire on a health centre and a kindergarten belonging to the World Vision Organization on Wednesday. They also looted some sheep and chickens. “This happened in front of Commissioner Jibril, Sudan’s Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Jamal Yusif, and the AU-UN Mission in Darfur (Unamid).” Ismail Hussein reported that the total contents which were looted included one large refrigerator for storing medicines and vaccines, five beds used for medical examination, six diesel-powered electricity generators, two solar energy cells used for generating electricity, medical examination equipment, medicines, 350 blankets, 200 small mattresses, five chairs, and 20 tables. All the documents and the contents of the kindergarten were set on fire. A resident of the camp told Radio Dabanga that the RSF already plundered the hospital of all the refrigerators and medicines during their first attack on Saturday. The militias have been looting the camp and besieging the nearby Unamid base, where many displaced have sought refuge. They also have demanded a ransom of SDG300,000 ($52,364) for the release of three people they had abducted in the attack on Saturday morning. Students call for intervention In Khartoum, the Darfur Students Association has demanded from the UN agencies and humanitarian organisations to immediately intervene in Darfur, protect the civilians, and provide food and shelter for the internally displaced people. The students demanded in a statement that the Security Council must impose a ban on military flights in Darfur as well as the release of all those imprisoned because of the issues in Darfur. File photo (Albert González Farran/Unamid) Related: Khor Abeche camp in South Darfur laid waste (23 March 2014)