Village attacked, surrounded in Central Darfur

Gunmen attacked and burned a village in Zalingei locality, Central Darfur, on Thursday morning. Six people sustained injuries. Militiamen lifted the road blockade in East Jebel Marra yesterday. Four people have been abducted in Nyala amid hightened security concerns in the city.

The attack took place in Bol Jamil in the Abata administrative unit of Zalingei. The coordinator of camps for displaced people in Central Darfur reported the incident to Radio Dabanga. “Gunmen attacked the village riding horses, camels and motorcycles. They opened fire in the village and wounded six people. ”

The attackers then stole goods from the shops and property of residents.

The wounded, he said, are Ibrahim Kujok, Abbas Adam Mohamed and Abdel Razeg who were taken to Zalingei hospital. A number of villagers has fled to Amdroa, the area of Kalgwa, while others reached Hamidiya camp.

“Now the armed men still gather around Bol Jamil,” he said on Thursday.

Gunmen re-open road

In East Jebel Marra, armed men opened the road from Deribat after a joint unit of the Sudanese army and police moved to the scene from El Fasher. Militiamen had closed the roads to El Fasher and Nyala, preventing the movement of vehicles for three consecutive days.

People in Deribat reported to this station that the Deribat road was re-opened without violence and that trucks that were waiting in Mershing for the blockade to be lifted, have returned to Nyala.

Nyala abductions

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, traders and residents in South Darfur are concerned about the continuing phenomenon of vehicles without license plates in Nyala. Some are used by members of criminal groups that roam the streets, committing thefts and abductions.

The concerns rose following the kidnap of trader El Sadig Hamdoun on Tuesday, while he was on his way home in the Congo neighbourhood of the state capital. This is the fourth kidnapping in Nyala during the last weeks. Security authorities have not managed to arrest any of the culprits.

There are thousands of unregistered vehicles in Darfur. North and South Darfur have started campaigns to confiscate or register all unlicensed vehicles in an attempt to decrease the number of illegal vehicles – often used by outlaws and criminals.