South Darfur protest against attacks, ‘toll gates’ on Nyala-El Fasher road

Dozens of people gathered in front of the South Darfur government offices in the state capital Nyala this morning in protest against repeated attacks on buses and other passenger vehicles on the Nyala-El Fasher road.

“Militiamen have erected more than 40 tents, using them as toll gates on the South Darfur part of the Nyala-El Fasher road,” bus driver Adam Musa Dawelbeit told Radio Dabanga.

“The protesters wanted to carry a passenger who was recently wounded in an armed robbery into the government building to meet the governor, but they did not succeed,” he said.

He related how last week, armed men armed fired at his bus in an attempt to stop it and rob the passenger of their belongings. “One passenger was hit by a bullet in his head.”

The bus driver added that that the assailants “usually beat-up the assistant drivers in particular, under the pretext of not obeying their orders”.

He further complained about the “toll fees” that total SDG1,000 ($170) per bus per journey.

A protester who regularly travels to El Fasher said that the travellers are subjected daily to insults and severe beatings.

He called via Radio Dabanga on the Darfur authorities to “restore the rule of law by removing the toll tents on the Nyala-El Fasher road, and provide adequate protection to the travellers”.