Sudan militia chief Hemeti: ‘Time for voluntary disarmament is over’

Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemeti’, Member of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and commander of the notorious Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, has renewed a call to tribal leaders to collect weapons as soon as possible, pointing out that “the time of voluntary disarmament is over”.

In a meeting with civil administration leaders and tribal elders in the South Darfur capital Nyala yesterday, Hemeti said: “We have no problem with anyone who voluntarily surrenders his gun.” He added that during the new administration, all rebel prisoners have been released, however, “those convicted under the Emergency Law must be re-charged because they are criminals”.

Hemeti vowed that “the Sudan Armed Forces are instructed to find and arrest the outlaws and they are ordered to collecting weapons and motorcycles and prevent any trespassing on farms.

Further, he emphasised the need to support the newly formed civilian government.

Hemiti’s word echo those of Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, chairman of the Sovereign Council, who launched a campaign of disarmament in Darfur last week.

At least three dead in clash

On Saturday, at least three people were killed and seven others injured in a clash between government troops and civilians in the Kidinear area north of Nyala. There are conflicting reports regarding the causes of the incident and the number of dead and wounded. Some witnesses asserted that the incident occurred when the military based in Kidinear shot a civilian, and as a result, people of Kidinear went out protesting until they reached the military garrison; where the military opened fire on the demonstrators.

However, others said that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) opened fire at a crowd of people who were protesting against the killing of a resident in the market in Kidinear.

Some locals report the death toll as three, while others said six people were killed, including one RSF personnel.

Mukjar

On Sunday, in Central Darfur, dozens of residents in Mukjar protested after a funeral against the killing of one person and injuring eight others, including children and women, in an attack on Saturday by gunmen on Sindo village, populated by returned formerly displaced people. The protest in front of the municipality condemned the incident and demanded the arrest of the perpetrators and justice for the victims.

One of the protestors told Radio Dabanga that the militiamen riding camels and horses indiscriminately opened fire on people in Sindo, east of Mukjar. As a result, a resident Adam Musa was killed, and Salah El Din Adam El Taher, Ibrahim Abdel-Mawla, Fatima Haroun, Saadia Abdullah, Mariam Othman, Halima Abdulrahman, Abdul Razek Hassan Mohammed, and Aisha Saleh Abdalkarim, were wounded along with a number of missing persons, including children and women. Residents’ property was pillaged and the village burned.

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