Peacekeepers in North Darfur’s Kabkabiya ‘shot in front of team site’

In a press realease on Saturday, Unamid announced that a policeman was killed, and three others were wounded during their attendance of a mediation meeting between a group of Fur tribesmen from El Salam village, and Arab militants from El Hara village. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga a partially different version of the incident. The Mission stated that elements of the militant Arab tribesmen during the mediation meeting became aggressive towards the Unamid forces, and shot at them. The peacekeepers shot back, causing an unconfirmed number of casualties among the attackers. Witnesses reported to Radio Dabanga on Sunday that the attack on the Unamid troops can be traced back to the assault on a sheikh of Hai El Salam camp on Thursday. “Six Janjaweed attacked sheikh Eisa Adam Mohamed in his home in the camp on Thursday evening. However, the displaced stood up to the attackers, captured one of them, and handed him to police.” “In response, the government-backed Janjaweed in four Land Cruisers, under the command of someone calling himself Gamar Duda, besieged the camp on Friday. Their continuously firing over the camp terrified the camp population, in particular the women and children. One of the stray bullets seriously injured camp resident Halima Arbab.” The witnesses said that on Saturday morning, a delegation consisting of the Commissioner of Kabkabiya locality, members of the North Darfur’s State’s Security Committee of State Security, and camp leaders went to the Unamid team site of Kabkabiya to ask for help. “When Unamid troops went out to welcome the delegation, the militiamen suddenly opened fire at them. One peacekeeper died, three others were injured. The Unamid troops fired back, killing four of the Janjaweed, and wounding seven others.” The militiamen fled inside the camp, the sources continued. “When they started to leave, at about 1pm, they stopped a rickshaw carrying three passengers, seized them, the driver, and the rickshaw, and took them to their village of El Hara, 2km east of Kabkabiya town. “The abducted displaced are Osman Abakar Mohamed, known as El Haj Batal, Yagoub Omar Majeed, nicknamed Prof, Dr Adam Mohamed, and Abu Bakr Ali Adam.” “During their return to El Hara village on Saturday afternoon, the Janjaweed assaulted about 25 displaced who were on their way back to the camp with firewood. They beat and lashed them. Four displaced sustained serious injuries. The gunmen stripped the displaced of everything they had with them, and left them only their underwear.” “Seven of the group went missing: Abdallah Hassan, Abakar Eisa, Musa Haroun, Mohamed Osman, Yahya Eisa, Mohamed Arafa, and Ali Hassan.” The sources added that the people of Kabkabiya have not left their homes since Friday. “Shops kept their doors shut on Friday and Saturday. On Saturday afternoon, a number of militiamen looted shops and stores in the town. The shops and also government institutions did not reopen on Sunday.   File photo: Government-backed militiamen (Janjaweed) Related: Unamid peacekeeper killed, three injured in Kabkabiya, North Darfur (24 May 2014)