Thuggery in North Darfur: five people killed, boy abducted

Armed robbers killed five villagers in Mellit locality in North Darfur on Thursday. They also took the residents' money, properties and cattle. In Tawila, a young boy was abducted by gunmen.

Witnesses reported on Friday that the entire Ein El Das village was burned by the attackers, resulting in the exodus of the residents to Mellit town. Five of them were killed by gunfire, while three others sustained injuries.

Raids, banditry and abductions have resulted in a grown insecurity in North Darfur state, particularly in the localities surrounding El Fasher. On 30 March, militiamen reportedly killed 41 villagers in Mellit. When they passed through Malawi later, the raiders robbed nearly 100 camels and money from the residents.

Boy abducted

On Thursday, a child fell victim to one of the frequent kidnappings in the region. Gunmen abducted the 8-year-old from Rwanda camp for displaced people in Tawila locality, and demanded his family to pay a ransom for his release.

The child, Majdi Abdallah Khater, was working with his mother on a farm, about 2km away from Rwanda camp, when three militiamen on camels attacked them, a camp sheikh told Radio Dabanga. “They fired into the air before kidnapping Majdi, and taking him to an unknown destination,” Adoma Adam Ahmed explained.

“They informed his family that they demand SDG20,000 [$3,330] for his release.” The boy jus entered his first basic school year.

Ahmed headed a delegation from the camp to El Fasher, to report the abduction to the police, and meet with government authorities. The meeting discussed the delegation's demands for more police forces in Tawila locality, and how to improve the security situation.

“However, the police has not moved so far to attempt saving the child,” he said.

The commander of the military garrison in Tawila already told displaced people in May that a force will be established to act against any soldier or militiaman, who dares to assault and rob civilians in the locality. But the raids, attacks, and hijacks by militiamen in the area have continued to terrorise the population, including the displaced.

Road accident

In a road accident in Mellit locality, eight people were injured when their vehicle overturned. A witness told Radio Dabanga that the bus was on its way from El Fasher to Abbas, in the area of Um Araheik.

The driver spotted a military convoy of the Sudanese army in the distance. In an attempt to avoid passing the convoy, the driver took a turn, ending up at the side of the road, after which the bus overturned.

The wounded were taken to El Fasher hospital for treatment.