Shelling, siege on East Jebel Marra residents in North Darfur

Government forces stationed in El Fasher locality, North Darfur, indiscriminately shell Tabit area “almost daily”. They have imposed a siege on the residents of eastern Jebel Marra villages, resulting in the non-operation of mills and water stations for two weeks. The residents of Tabit town in East Jebel Marra experience “indiscriminate shelling towards the surrounding villages and farms almost daily”, which caused the death of seven donkeys on Tuesday. They also reported to Radio Dabanga that herder Abdul Majeed Ishag Adam was arrested and taken to an unknown destination by military security forces on Thursday. Furthermore, the residents of Tabit are denied any delivery of diesoline, which has forced them to “return to the Middle ages: we grind grains with stones, or walk for hours amid the risk of being killed”, they told Radio Dabanga. “Diesoline is forbidden and subjected to confiscation, even if the owner holds a permit from El Fasher.” This resulted in the non-operation of 150 mills and three water stations for a period of 15 days. Other reports said that the authorities in Tabit have launched a campaign to confiscate the medicines which are transported to eastern Jebel Marra, where there is no a health centre. “This exasperated the suffering of the civilians.” The residents of East Jebel Marra appealed to the international human rights organisations and the lawyers of Darfur “to move to rescue the civilians trapped there”. File photo: An unexploded missile on the way to Tabit. Several villages in this area were affected by clashes between government and rebel forces  in March 2011. (Albert González Farran/Unamid)Related: Herdsman dies as Darfur’s East Jebel Marra bombed, shelled (21 January 2014)