Seven people killed in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains last week

Last week, two herders were shot dead and robbed in the area of Abu Kershola in the northern part of South Kordofan. The bodies of two farmers were found with gunshot wounds in the neighbourhood of Um Burambeta. More than 200 kilometres to the south, three people were killed near Kologi. The killings may have been caused by tribal conflicts.

The Sudanese Human Rights and Development Organisation (HUDO) reported yesterday that herders Mohamed Omar (54) and Mohamed El Haj (34) died on Friday.

When the two herdsmen were returning to their camp nearby El Fayed Um Abdallah village near Abu Kershola*, they were intercepted by four masked men riding on motorcycles. The men were wearing uniforms of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The attackers shot them and took their money. People in the neighbourhood who witnessed the incident took the two victims to the hospital but they died on the way. The incident was reported to the police of El Fayed Um Abdallah but no investigation was carried out.

Hawazma farmers

On Saturday, Omar El Taher (57) and Ezzeldin Mahmoud (30) were found dead by fellow farmers on the way between Um Burambeta and their farms. Their bodies showed gunshots wounds. They were not robbed, and their motorcycles were found next to their bodies.  

The farmers took the bodies to Um Burambeta Hospital, and a case was filed at the town’s police office. The police did not act, HUDO stated in a report today.

A community leader in the area informed HUDO that the victims were Hawazma tribesmen. As the cause of the killing seems not to have been robbery, the incident has triggered tensions between the communities in the area.

Nusra Front

On November 1, three people were killed by militiamen four kilometres from Kologi, HUDO reported yesterday.  

Around midday, a large group of armed men on about 15 motorcycles, most of them wearing RSF uniforms, shot Musa El Fahal (55), Ahmed El Louka (46), and Mohamed Wagea (25) dead while they were walking from El Regeila to the Kologi weekly market.

The following day, armed men in RSF uniforms beat and robbed a group of people of their smart phones and money. The people, among them community leaders Yahya El Sheikh and Abdallah El Louka, were on their way to El Regeila (about eight kilometres south-west of Kologi) to offer their condolences to the families of the three men killed.

The two incidents were reported at the Kologi police station, but no further steps were taken.

A “reliable source” informed HUDO that a group of Hawazma herders (most of them belonging to the Dar Ali) are in conflict with the Kenana, Kawahla, and other tribes in the area. They formed the Nusra Front for Justice and Development in Gardoud Toro (near  Kologi) last month.

The militant group is allegedly headed by an army officer affiliated with the deposed regime of Omar Al Bashir. They are equipped with weapons such as machine guns and wear uniforms of the RSF and the Popular Defence Forces militia that was dissolved in June last year. They are attacking people in the area, “and we believe the two incidents were committed by them,” HUDO stated. 

* HUDO speaks about Abu Kershola locality. This is the old name for part of the area which is now called Rashad locality. The ousted Al Bashir regime re-divided parts of Kordofan and Darfur, and in some cases changed the names of localities as well.