Protest against insecurity in Central Darfur

Residents of Zalingei in Central Darfur started a sit-in and closed the bridge in the town yesterday, protesting against the rampant insecurity in the area. Residents of Zamzam camp demand more food.

The protestors pointed at the many violent incidents, armed robberies, killings and more specifically the plundering in the Sherg El Wadi area and at the Hamidiya Market.

Most of the incidents have been reported to the police. The activists said that the bridge will be closed until their demands for protection are met.

Darfur displaced demand food

Residents of the Zamzam camp for the displaced near El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, continue their sit-in in front of the World Food Programme’s headquarters in Darfur. They demand larger rations and distribution of food to all the displaced in the camp.

The displaced demand that the WFP abolishes its classification of the displaced into three groups: those who do not directly need aid, those who need emergency aid for a period of six months, and those who need continuous assistance.

The protestors also demand that children born since 2003 will be taken into account in the decision how much food people receive.

A spokeswoman for the protesters told reporters that the displaced have been suffering from a lack of food for years, which has weakened them and made them susceptible to malaria and other diseases.

Revolutionary Awakening Council

Relatives and supporters of former janjaweed leader Musa Hilal carried out a protest vigil in front of the Saraf Omra locality offices on Monday. They demand the release of all members of the Revolutionary Awakening Council (RAC), established by Hilal in 2004.

The demonstrators vigil handed a memorandum to the director of Saraf Omra locality, in which they called on the members of the Sovereign Council, the Council of Ministers, and the Forces for Freedom and Change to urgently intervene to release the detainees, and to stop targeting and abusing RAC supporters.

They also appealed to the UN Security Council, the African Union, the Arab League, and human rights organisations to intervene and secure the unconditional release of Musa Hilal and his followers.

Relatives and supporters of Hilal have been staging protests calling for his release in North Darfur and Khartoum since he has been arrested in November 2017. Hilal is held responsible for numerous atrocities committed in Darfur against civilians after the conflict erupted in 2003. With full government backing, his janjaweed militiamen targeted villages of African Darfuris. They rarely came near forces of the rebel movements.

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