Rebels ‘repel government militia attack’ in Darfur’s Jebel Marra

The Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW) of Abdelwahid El Nur's leadership has announced that it repulsed an attack by the government Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia on the movement’s sites in Fujo and Hillet Ateem in Darfur’s western Jebel Marra on Wednesday morning.

Waleed Abakar, the movement’s military spokesman, claimed to Radio Dabanga from the field that the movement’s forces managed to kill 14 rapid support militia members, including a lieutenant, and seized 16 Kalashnikovs, four machine guns and 14 motorcycles.

He explained that the rapid support militia transferred its wounded to Nierteti

A civilian was killed and three others were wounded by government forces during fighting. Fleeing witnesses reported that the attack caused the killing of Hamid Ali and the wounding of 13-year-old Salima Yousef, 21-year-old Adam Yahya, Hamid and 58-year-old Abdelshakour Adam.

They pointed out that there were missing people who were not counted because everyone had fled in all directions.

Witnesses said that the dead and wounded of the troops and the government militias were transferred to the military garrison of Golol and from there were  by helicopter to Zalingei for treatment

The government forces and militia also launched another attack on Tibein in northern Jebel Marra.

Abakar told Radio Dabanga that the attack on Sunday afternoon targeted the movement’s sites in Tibin in north Jebel Marra, pointing to continued fighting.

He warned the government against breaching international obligations and covenants and declared the readiness of the movement’s forces to deal with any attack.

Yesterday, Abdelgader Gadura, the commander-in-chief of the movement’s forces, issued a statement, in which he pointed out that the government forces and their militias attacked the movement’s sites in Jebel Marra through five axes of Jebel Marra including Fouj, Fondog, and Kutrum.

He stressed that the battles are ongoing now in all axes to defeat what he called the fugitives of the regime.

There has been no official reaction from the Sudanese armed forces or the official spokesman about what is really happening in Jebel Marra.

Meanwhile, the second commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Gen. Abdelrahim Hamdan Dajalo, affirmed the re-arrest of nine members of the Revolutionary Awakening Council of the leadership of detainee Mousa Hilal, headed by Ismail El Aghbash,

Dajalo said in statements quoted by El Mijhar newspaper in its issue yesterday, describing the detainees as a secret cell that provokes sedition, spreading rumours about the regular forces and conducting external and internal communications targeting the rapid support.

He accused in his statements to the newspaper the detainees who were arrested in the house of El Aghbash that they plan to campaign information and activities hostile to the state.

He denied that the RSF had secret detention facilities in Darfur or Khartoum.

Officers of the National Security and Intelligence Service informed the families of the detainees that they were being held.