Rapid Support Forces attack, loot South Darfur village

Militiamen of the Rapid Support Forces attacked a village near Nyala, South Darfur, and looted the property of its residents on Wednesday. Sources who have relatives in the village of Ladoub told Radio Dabanga that government-backed militiamen led by ‘Hemeti’, officially known as the Rapid Support Forces, attacked Ladoub, and beat the villagers with riffle butts. They shot Majeed Fadul Abdel Majeed, breaking both his legs, and seriously wounding him in the chest and neck. A displaced man told Radio Dabanga that among the villagers who have been subjected to the abuses were Abdel Rahman Mohamed Hassan Sawareen, Ishag Ibrahim Abu Shattai, Ishag Majeed Fadul, and Mohamed Ibrahim El Doma. Nyala camp demands protection On Wednesday morning, a number of displaced of Otash camp visited the nearby Unamid site, demanding protection and a cease fire by night, to prevent government-backed militiamen from entering the camp. One of the camp sheikhs told Radio Dabanga that the Omdas, Sheikhs, youth and women representatives held a meeting with Unamid and the Sudanese Humanitarian Affairs Commission for four hours to discuss the security situation in the camp. “We especially talked about the roaming of Rapid Support Forces and other Janjaweed with their weapons in the camp, their assaults against the displaced, and their shooting at the camp during the night.” He said that Unamid told them at the meeting that they “cannot protect the displaced”. On Tuesday, the Commander of the Rapid Support Forces stated that “they are in Darfur to fight the armed opposition movements”, and their deployment in military operations is arranged in coordination with the General Command of the Sudanese army. File photo Related: Rapid Support Forces beat, rob displaced in South Darfur (26 February 2014)