‘Sudan forces now targeting civilians’ camp leader says

Approximately 1,321 families from villages in South Darfur have arrived at camp Attash in Nyala over the past two weeks. A sheikh has noted that people are fleeing their homes “because government forces now avoid attacking rebel formations and instead turn their weapons and aircraft on civilians”.Sheikh Abdel Karim Abakar told Radio Dabanga on Thursday that the displaced come from the villages of Umm Daraba, Umm Gunja and Abu Jabra. He stressed they are all experiencing terrible humanitarian conditions.Abakar disclosed that government forces are using different types of weapons against civilians including aircrafts. He added that, on Wednesday in the village of Umm Daraba, more than 600 homes were torched and destroyed.“These crimes committed by the government are based on ethnic and tribal reasons,” Abakar said. “This is causing thousands to flee their villages and homes.”On Monday, a group of 2,000 militiamen torched and “entirely burned” the village of Abu Jabra, killing and injuring “dozens” of its residents, forcing hundreds more to flee to El Salam and Girayda camps. The town of Dito was also torched later.Demanding that the government allow organisations access to help the displaced, Abakar said the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has registered the newly displaced but did not offer them adequate services.The sheikh appealed to international organisations to move quickly and provide urgent relief to the displaced, especially as their numbers continue to rise.File photo by Albert González Farran/UNAMIDRelated: South Darfur village torched by ‘2,000′ ─ ‘dozens dead’ (8 May 2013)