More deaths as South Kordofan security problems persist

A villager was killed while he was working on his farm in Habila locality, South Kordofan, yesterday. Two other people were killed in the same area in a separate incident on the same day.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, an eyewitness said that the farmer was shot by unidentified gunmen on his farm near El Zalataya village in the neighbourhood of Dalami early on Friday morning.

The witnesses said that the body was transported to Dalami for a post-mortem.

In a separate event, another farmer was killed near the village of Zalami on Friday morning.

A listener told Radio Dabanga that, in response to the killing, an angry group of young people from Dalami took to the nomad settlements north of the town later that day and attacked one of the settlements. The attack led to the death of a herder. A number of houses were torched.

The situation returned to a cautious calm following the intervention of security forces that contained the situation.

Security problems

These are not the only violent incidents in the Habila locality recently. Yesterday, Radio Dabanga reported on the death of two other farmers who were killed at the end of last month by unidentified gunmen. A case was filed at the police station, but no action was taken.

Habila locality is known for its agricultural schemes. Farmers and herders have repeatedly clashed in the region in the past, usually because nomadic herders let their cattle graze on agricultural lands.

South Kordofan witnessed protests earlier this year over the rampant insecurity in the region. At the start of January, Radio Dabanga reported on a surge in violence and crime in the western parts of South Kordofan. People are particularly frustrated about the lack of police action.