Robberies and kidnapping in Sudan

Sudan witnessed various crimes in the past week. On Friday, a community leader was abducted In East Jebel Marra, South Darfur, while a minibus driver was killed in an armed robbery on Monday in El Abbasiya town, South Kordofan, amid a surge of crime in the area.

A minibus driving from Kosti in White Nile state to El Abbasiya town in South Kordofan was attacked by a group of four men wearing uniforms of the Popular Defence Forces* in the area 30 kilometres north-east of El Abbasiya. They rode on motorbikes.

The attackers first shot driver Ali Zeitouna (63), who died on the spot, and then robbed and assaulted the passengers of their money and smartphones, the Sudanese Human Rights and Development Organisation (HUDO) reported in a press statement on Friday.

A case was filed at the police station in El Abbasiya but no action was taken.

Robberies in South Kordofan

Earlier this week, Radio Dabanga reported on the recent surge in violence and crime in South Kordofan. Paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) reportedly killed two farmers near the South Kordofan capital Kadugli and robbed another man of his motorbike in Abu Kershola.

At the end of last month, Radio Dabanga reported at least three robberies on the road between Talodi and Kologi.

On November 22, HUDO reported the armed robbery of more than 20 passengers travelling in a commercial vehicle from Abu Jubeiha to Talodi. They were robbed of their money and smartphones at gunpoint in the area of Gardoud Toro by four armed men dressed in RSF uniforms.

They immediately reported the case to the Military Intelligence of Gardoud Toro, and filed a complaint at the Talodi police station the next day, but no action was taken.

According to HUDO, many more robbery attempts were committed alongside this road, due to the lack of response from police. November 24, for instance, saw three attempts at armed robbery of passengers in the same place and on November 25, six gunmen shot at a commercial vehicle near El Beida. Many more attempted robberies took place around Talodi.

All cases were reported to the police, yet no action was taken.

Kidnapping in Jebel Marra

Yesterday, community leader Omda Hasabo Omar was kidnapped in an attack on the weekly market of Balli Sereif in East Jebel Marra, South Darfur.

A listener told Radio Dabanga that an armed group attacked the market and beat the marketgoers before they seized the Omar and took him to an unknown destination.

Omar is a well-known civil administration leader in the area.

The witness said that he did not know of any reason or motive for the attack.

Violence in Darfur

On Wednesday, Amnesty International urged the UN Security Council to extend its mandate of the UNAMID joint peacekeeping mission in Darfur because of the ongoing violence in the region and “in light of failure by government security forces to protect civilians in recent months”.

UNAMID has reported 47 cases of human rights violations and the displacement of more than 50,000 people in Darfur between September 1 and November 23 of this year, including over 27,000 people in Central and South Darfur.

* The Popular Defence Forces militia was officially dissolved in June this year.

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