South Darfur to collect illegal arms ‘by force’

The governor of South Darfur has called on the people living in the state to report the possession of illegally acquired weapons.

“Many outlaws have hidden their arms. I therefore now call on everyone in the region to report the hiding places,” Governor Adam El Faki said at the conclusion of a conference on peaceful coexistence for the South Darfur localities of El Wehda, Mershing, Niteaga, East Jebel Marra and the North Darfur localities of Dar El Salam and Tawila.

The governor announced a new campaign in which illegal weapons will be collected by force. “No one is stronger than the government. We will capture all pig-heads and send them to the prison of Port Sudan,” he said.

The participants of the conference recommended the “activation of preventive security mechanisms, tightening the coordination between the security committees of the neighbouring localities, and the establishment of more judicial organs in the region”.

In July 2017, the Sudanese government announced a large disarmament campaign in the country, to begin with in Darfur and Kordofan. As the measure did not achive the desired aim, Second Vice-President, Hasabo Abdelrahman, announced the re-enforcement of illegal arms collection in Darfur in May this year.

In August, President Omar Al Bashir again pointed to the problem of the proliferation of arms in the country and ordered Sudanese judges to “apply the law and cut off limbs and necks of anyone who refuses to hand over his illegal weapon”.