♦ This week’s news in brief ♦

A compact weekly digest of Dabanga Sudan's highlights of the news from Darfur and Sudan

♦ Darfur: Jebel Marra bombs lead to more casualties, displaced

January 19 – 2016 (EAST) JEBEL MARRA / NIERTETI People in the Jebel Marra areas continue to flee high into the mountain and caves to seek shelter from air raids and shelling by government forces, which have lasted for five consecutive days. Roads are still closed, impeding newly displaced people from reaching the camps where protection against militias has become a major concern.

East Jebel Marra was subject to aerial bombardment from 1 to 4 am on Tuesday, resulting in the killing of at least one man. “There was heavy bombing […] We are still counting the number of casualties,” a witness said.

The Sudanese forces are currently engaged in a large aerial and ground offensive on a rebel stronghold in Jebel Marra. The area of Nierteti, popularly known as western Jebel Marra, was also bombed. Like yesterday, people in Nierteti told Radio Dabanga that they could hear the sound of explosions and see smoke rising from villages east of Nierteti. “A number of homes burnt down during the air raids on Tuesday,” a source said. “Livestock were killed and the people have fled to caves in the vicinity, and surrounding valleys and forests.” In an attempt to seek shelter from the continuous attacks, thousands of families have reportedly left their homes for the higher mountains and caves.

On Monday, a witness told this station that 34 villages in Jebel Marra have been abandoned. Four people were killed when an Antonov aircraft reportedly dropped three barrel bombs on the village of Keina on Saturday. These bombs are rolled out of the cargo hatch of Sudan's Antonov transport aircrafts, and are thus far from accurate.

Displaced people and Sheikhs in the camps north of Nierteti have demanded more protection and a 24-hour patrol around the camp against the recurring attacks by gunmen. Pro-government militiamen opened fire in El Shamaliya camp on Monday afternoon and robbed the phone of a displaced man. Peacekeepers from the AU-UN Mission in Darfur (Unamid), arrived from Zalingei on Tuesday to discuss the situation in the camps.

The Jebel Marra mountain range in the centre of Darfur is an area that has been inaccessible to health providers for years. Besides rampant insecurity owing to the fighting, the Sudanese government does not allow organisations entry into the area, and the mountains impede transport for the estimated 95,000 people (according to a recent OCHA fact sheet) who live in inner Jebel Marra.

♦ Newly displaced reach North Darfur camps

January 19 – 2016 KABKABIYA The residents of Bardi village, 45 kilometres east of Kabkabiya in North Darfur, fled their homes after militiamen launched an attack on Saturday. On Monday, 47 families from Bardi arrived in Kabkabiya town. They told the coordinator of the camps for displaced people in the locality that they decided to flee after the village's Sheikh and three other persons were beaten by the attackers, and their homes torched.

The coordinator told Radio Dabanga on Monday that the “860 newly displaced people” are now hosted in El Salam camp. Peacekeepers of the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (Unamid) and other aid organisations have run an inventory of the needs of the new arrivals. The coordinator explained that most of them are women, children, and elderly people.

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Other news highlights:

Displaced attacked inside Darfur’s camps

January 19 – 2016 NIERTETI / KABKABIYA Pro-government militiamen attacked two camps for the displaced in Nierteti and Zalingei, Central Darfur, on Sunday and Monday. Many families were displaced by another…

Four die in South Darfur traffic

January 19 – 2016 NYALA Four people died in a traffic accident in South Darfur, near Nyala’s Technical College on Monday morning. The police says that the number of accidents is increasing. The collision between…

Hepatitis outbreak in Abu Hamed, northern Sudan

January 18 – 2016 ABU HAMED Residents of Abu Hamed in northern Sudan's River Nile state complain of an outbreak of hepatitis that has lasted more than two months. “At least 11 young people…

Two displaced gang-raped in South Darfur's Gireida

January 17 – 2016 GIREIDA Four gunmen raped two young women from the Babanusa camp for the displaced in Gireida locality in South Darfur on Thursday. In an other incident, a woman was injured when she…

West Darfur leaders demand impartial probe into El Geneina killings

January 17 – 2016 EL GENEINA / KHARTOUM The Sudanese government has sent a committee to El Geneina, capital of West Darfur, to investigate the killing of a number of civilians in the town on 10 and 11 January…

Darfur community leaders reject referendum

January 17 – 2016 KHARTOUM Darfuri leaders have renewed their rejection of the Darfur referendum on the region's administrative status, scheduled to take place 11-13 April. Civil society activist Zahra Abdelnaeem told…

Darfur dengue outbreak may be stabilising

January 15 – 2016 KHARTOUM There is a 'significant drop' in the number of fatal dengue cases since the outbreak erupted four months ago, according to aid organisations in Sudan. The cumulative number of suspected…

'1,000 people fled violence in West Darfur village': OCHA

January 15 – 2016 KHARTOUM The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and its humanitarian partners reported that a number of people from Mouli, south of El Geneina, have left the village since…

Informal talks with Sudan's rebels in Germany, Ethiopia

January 15 – 2016 KHARTOUM The African Union said informal talks between the Sudanese government and the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) would resume in the German capital Berlin..

North Darfur herders still besiege Katur village

January 15 – 2016 KATUR Militant herdsmen have besieged Katur village in North Darfur's Tawila locality for several days since Sunday. They threaten to kill eight village elders if the villagers do not pay compensation…

This digest is an excerpt from the weekly Darfur & Sudan News Update. Subscribe to the newsletter here