Trucks hijacked, village pillaged by gunmen in Darfur

Two commercial vehicles en route from El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, to Nyala in South Darfur, were hijacked and robbed, allegedly by pro-government militiamen on Monday evening. A witness told Radio Dabanga that about 12 gunmen mounted on camels ambushed the vehicles near Abu Hamra in North Darfur. “The men fired into the air and forced the drivers to stop. They then forced both vehicles to drive to Jebel Al Teen. There, they beat the drivers and passengers before robbing them of their money and mobile phones, making off with all the goods the vehicles were carrying,” the witness said. In a seasonal quirk, the robbers reportedly forced the drivers to eat at gunpoint, and thereby break their Ramadan fast. The witness also reported that the driver of one of the vehicles and several passengers finally managed to escape. “They reached Manawashi in South Darfur on Tuesday. All of them have various injuries.” In a separate incident on Tuesday morning, “pro-government militiamen” attacked the village of Karendy Kaslo, about 20 kilometres south of Kass in South Darfur. Fleeing villagers told Radio Dabanga that the attack seemed to be retribution for a confrontation between a village trader and several militiamen who attempted to rob his shop on Monday evening. “One of the militiamen died in the confrontation, which caused the others, riding horses, camels and on foot, to gather on Tuesday morning and storm the town.” The witness said that the militia pillaged the entire village, but that there were “no injuries to report because all of the villagers fled in different directions”. Most of the villagers reportedly fled to the surrounding mountains or valleys, some towards Kass town, and others to neighbouring Sunguda village. File photo by Albert González Farran/Unamid