Vehicles hijacked, merchants abducted en route to West Darfur market

Two goods vehicles were hijacked and six merchants abducted by armed militiamen in West Darfur on Tuesday.

The merchants were making their way from Kireinek and Um Deriban to the weekly Saraf Umra market on Tuesday morning, when they were intercepted by gunmen driving two Land Cruisers mounted with Dushka machineguns.

Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that the hijackers seized the vehicles, the goods, and took Idris, Mudesir Ramadan Mohammed, El Sadig Hussein, Abakar Ibrahim Adam, and two others who were not identified hostage.

“The gunmen took the merchants and the vehicles to Fassi area where they offloaded some of the goods. They then took the rest of the goods together with merchants to an unknown destination.”

Witnesses told Radio Dabanga “the possible reason was a previous incident in which two of the relatives of the gunmen were killed, a vehicle was hijacked, and the offenders were identified, which led the relatives of the militants impose blood money of SDG7 million”.