SLM-AW: ‘Darfur village raised by shelling’

The Sudan Liberation Movement faction under the leadership of Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW) reports that government forces, stationed at Gobo area south of Jebel Marra have burned the entire village of Saboun El Fagur with artillery shells, causing a number of deaths and injuries.

In an interview with Radio Dabanga, Mohamed El Nayer, the spokesman for the movement condemned targeting the unarmed civilian villages in the strongest terms, considering it “an attempt by the regime to divert attention from the real crisis it is experiencing as a result of the peaceful popular uprising organised in most parts of the country”.

Armed robbery

Ibrahim Abdelkarim, a resident of the Northern Nierteti Camp for the displaced was shot dead in a robbery, allegedly by army soldiers, on Tuesday night.

One of the camp sheikhs told Radio Dabanga that five members of the army attacked Abdelkarim at 7 pm on Tuesday, shot him dead, stole his possessions of a mobile phone and money and then fled.

‘Hard to monitor’

The stricken village is specifically mentioned in the latest periodic report by UN Secretary-General António Guterres to the UN Security Council of January 14.

In his report, Guterres laments: “The ability of Unamid to independently monitor and verify reported violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law remained a challenge, owing to lack of access to Jebel Marra, in particular in Feina and Saboun El Fagur localities in Central Darfur. Victims and witnesses interviewed reported serious human rights concerns involving the Sudanese Armed Forces, Military Intelligence, the National Intelligence, and Security Services, and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), including alleged indiscriminate killings, sexual violence in the form of rape, arbitrary arrests and illegal detention.

“Notwithstanding sustained and positive engagement between state authorities and Unamid, corroborating reports on human rights incidents in Central Darfur continued to be a challenge.”

Guterres notes that this is owing in part to lack of willingness by law enforcement and judicial authorities to share information with Unamid.