Tea-shop owner burned with boiling water, sources

A tea-shop owner from Umm Dukhum, Central Darfur, was allegedly burned with boiling water by a member of the Central Reserve Forces (known as Abu Tira) on Sunday, 16 December, onlookers told Radio Dabanga. They said Abbas Ali Gudja approached tea lady Ferdous Omar Ibrahim at the market but she refused to talk to him. According to the onlookers, this led him to grab the water from the fire and pour it on her. Ibrahim was seriously injured on her back and her right arm and was immediately taken to a hospital in Umm Dukhum in critical condition, onlookers recounted. According to sources, the perpetrator is well-known in the area and has done the exact same thing to another woman six months ago. Gudja is said to belong to a pro-government militia, having fought on the side of the government during the Darfur war when he burned villages and displaced civilians from their homes, sources asserted.Radio Dabanga file photo