Villagers flee attack, abductions in Darfur’s Jebel Marra

Armed men took three men from Darfur's East Jebel Marra on Wednesday night. Their attack resulted in the fleeing of hundreds of villagers.

Witnesses from the area said that armed men, driving cars and others riding on camels and horses, attacked their village, Vuguli at about 5pm. They opened fire into the air and beat a number of villagers.

They then abducted Adil Abdulhamid Abaker Fadul (30 years), Koram Kowei (30), and Saleh Adam El Haj (50), in addition to stealing money, property and livestock from the village.

A camp coordinator informed Radio Dabanga that 163 families, 516 persons in total, have arrived in Shadad camp in Shangil Tobaya from Vuguli on Thursday. He said that most of he newly displaced people were children, women, and elderly.

In Shadad, an estimated 4,495 people from Jebel Marra have taken refuge with verification ongoing, the UN's humanitarian office (OCHA) reported. As of 20 March, an estimated 129,200 displaced people have taken refuge in North, Central, and South Darfur from the ongoing aerial bombardments and militiamen attacks on their villages since January this year, according to aid agencies and government authorities.