Second phase of disarmament campaign to begin next week across Sudan

The National Disarmament Committee has called on those possessing illegal arms and unlicensed vehicles in Sudan to promptly hand them over to responsible authorities before the beginning of the forced collection phase which is due to begin next week.

The Committee's rapporteur, Ahmed El Naw, confirmed that work during the next phase would continue with the same mandate and strength with which the collection began.

He pointed out that Land Cruisers that have illegally entered the country will be subject to the new Customs Act, which will be activated next week.

He said that some 1329 vehicles have been registered in Darfur since the campaign began. More vehicles are to be registered next week.

Disarmament campaign

Last year in July, the Sudanese government announced a large disarmament campaign in the country, to begin with in Darfur and Kordofan.

Members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Sudan’s main government militia, and the army were tasked to collect illegal arms and unlicensed vehicles from civilians. In North Darfur alone, more than 12,500 RSF troops were deployed for this purpose.

The phase of the voluntary handover of weapons ended and compulsory collection began in end October. By then, about 30,000 weapons had been collected, out of an estimated 700,000 illegal weapons circulating in Darfur. 

In November 2017, the commander of RSF, deployed more forces for its disarmament campaign in Darfur. This was followed by a re-enforcement campaign in May 2018, announced by the Sudan’s second vice-president.