Protest in North Darfur against herder, militia attacks

Residents of Kabkabiya in North Darfur held a mass demonstration on Sunday morning, protesting attacks against farmers and their farms by herders and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, a listener told Radio Dabanga.

The most recent attacks occurred on Saturday. In Shoba, south of Kabkabiya, more than 20 farmers were injured when they were attacked by a group of militant herdsmen. 12 women farmers were seriously wounded and had to be transferred to Kabkabiya Hospital. RSF militiamen also assaulted the head of the Committee for the Protection of the Agricultural Season, Sheikh Hasan Eisa. They beat him at Kabkabiya police station, forced him into a vehicle, and drove him to the RSF headquarters south of Kabkabiya, where he was tortured.

Memorandum

One of the demonstrators told Radio Dabanga that they handed a memorandum to the Kabkabiya public prosecutor, the police, the locality commissioner, the military garrison, and Unamid. They demand that the alleged perpetrators be arrested and brought to justice, illegal weapons collected, the RSF militia in the region  replaced by army forces, early grazing on farms stopped, and that a committee investigation the damage to the farms be set up.

Movement of RSF troops

On Sunday, the RSF in the North Darfur sector moved a number of its troops to the localities of the state “in order to protect the agricultural season”.

The RSF militia is commanded by Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemeti’, Deputy Chairman of the Sovereign Council. It supported the former regime of ousted president Omar Al Bashir.

Radio Dabanga’s editorial independence means that we can continue to provide factual updates about political developments to Sudanese and international actors, educate people about how to avoid outbreaks of infectious diseases, and provide a window to the world for those in all corners of Sudan. Support Radio Dabanga for as little as €2.50, the equivalent of a cup of coffee.