North Darfur commander acknowledges ‘abuses by outlaws’

The commander of Kutum Garrison in North Darfur, Brigadier El Sadig El Mahdi Abdelrahman, has acknowledged that the Ein Siro area and the surrounding villages were exposed to burning and theft by what he called outlaws whom he said “have come from all directions, especially Kutum and Kabkabiya”.

On Tuesday he said at a meeting with the native administration that he is aware of what has happened and vowed to send the joint force to stop the acts and return the stolen items to their owners.

The MP of Kutum Fata Borno constituency El Tayeb Ahmed Ibrahim, said that a joint force moved Wednesday from Kutum and stationed in three areas of Takjo, Fono and inside Ein Siro village.

The Omda of Ein Siro Abdallah Ishag said that those forces did not intervene to stop the attacks and acts of theft and robbery.

Fourth consecutive day

He pointed out that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and other militias riding motorcycles and camels have continued robbery and theft in Ein Siro areas for the fourth consecutive day.

The MP of Kutum Fata Borno constituency El Tayeb Ahmed Ibrahim, said that robbery and theft took place at Farang area on Wednesday

He said number of dead and wounded among the unarmed civilians are still being counted, along with the burning of seven complete villages and pillaging of 17.

He said in an interview with Radio Dabanga that the ongoing acts of theft, robbery and burning since the outbreak of the incidents have been carried out by many forces using vehicles, motorcycles and camels.

He called on the state and central governments to urgently provide humanitarian aid to those affected, send more troops to protect them and return their stolen property.

Unamid

On Wednesday a Unamid delegation arrived in Kutum and met with the authorities there, along with the leaders, sheikhs and omdas of Camp Kassab.

The head of the Kassab camp, Sheikh El Tahir Ismail, told Radio Dabanga that a delegation of Unamid met on Wednesday with the leaders, sheikhs and Omdas at the Kassab camp and asked them a number of questions, including whether they expect displacement of the people affected and fleeing the areas of Ein Siro and whether they can receive and host them in the event of their displacement.

He said they told the delegation they expect their displacement since they have lost all their money and property, livestock and had their houses burned and lost security.

However, he said they cannot afford to host them, because they themselves need relief.

The Association of Kutum students at universities and higher institutes described what has happened in Ein Siro area as the second genocide and called for intervention to stop the killings, theft and burning and conduct an independent investigation so as to bring the perpetrators to justice.