Strict measures as Darfur Crimes Court resumes murder and robbery trial

Tight security measures were in place as the Darfur Crimes Court in South Darfur continued the trial session in the state capital Nyala on Sunday, against four men accused of murdering three people during an armed robbery in the city.

Security forces equipped with heavy and light weapons were deployed in and around the Nyala court on Sunday to prevent intervention of comrades of the accused who might attempt to free them.

Judge Mohamed El Mutaz heard the testimonies of the defendants. The trial will be resumed on 7 March.

The four gunmen were detained end last year after they had evaded security forces for a long time. They were caught hiding in a house in Nyala, with their military uniforms and their weapons.

In July 2014, the South Darfur authorities imposed a number of emergency measures in an attempt to curb the increasing lawlessness in the state. An Emergency Court was established in August to speedily try offenders of the measures that banned unregistered vehicles, the wearing of a turban covering the face (kadamool), the carrying of weapons by civilians, and the riding of a motorcycle by more than one person.

Early September 2015, the Governor of South Darfur announced a plan to lift the State of Emergency, in anticipation of “the decrease of lawlessness and improvement of the security conditions over the next three months”.

He said that the security situation improved greatly after “the arrest of 80 percent of the members of criminal networks” in the state. The South Darfur authorities would “take precautionary measures to arrest the remaining outlaws hiding in the state”.