‘Unprecedented’ crime with no police in North Darfur’s Kutum

The residents of Kutum town in North Darfur complain about an “unprecedented increase” in attacks by gunmen, amid the absence of security and police forces for more than two years. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a listener in Kutum said that “the number of incidents of people being ambushed by government-backed militiamen on the roads, assaults and burglaries at night, and thefts of property, have risen to an unpreced level”. “The population of Kutum town is unsafe, even in their homes. We do not dare to leave our houses in the evening anymore, even to perform prayers at the mosque”. The citizen demanded from the North Darfur State government to put an end to the violence of the militiamen, and establish regular police posts again, and from Unamid to run night patrols in Kutum. Military police and army forces are tasked with maintaining security, reporting, and investigating crimes in Kutum locality, after the police withdrew more than two years ago. The police force was released from its duties when the state’s governor declared a State of Emergency in the region following waves of violence, and ordered all law enforcement services to withdraw. File photo: Training at the Police Headquarters in El Fasher, North Darfur, by the Unamid Rule of Law-Prisons Advisory Unit, January 2014 (Albert González Farran/Unamid) Related:Man killed, students assaulted, women raped in Kutum, North Darfur (14 August 2014) ‘Saraf Umra is one big prison’: North Darfur camp coordinator (1 May 2014)Lawlessness in Kutum due to absence of Darfur police (29 November 2013)