Villagers in Tawila, North Darfur, fear major herder attack

Three people were killed and more than 1,000 cows were stolen in an attack on a herder settlement in Tawila locality in North Darfur on Wednesday. In response, hundreds of armed herdsmen arrived in the area over the past few days. A farmer was killed, another abducted, and two women were gang-raped, allegedly by the herders.

“The problems started on Wednesday, when a group of gunmen stormed one of the herder settlements, about 15 kilometres west of Tawila town. They shot a man, a woman and her baby dead, and took more than 1,000 camels and cows with them to the south,” multiple sources reported to Radio Dabanga from the area.

They said that about 600 herders riding camels, horses, and motorcycles have arrived near Tawila from the direction of the South Darfur capital Nyala. 300 others have appeared in the area of Tabit from Tawila, and El Fasher.

“We fear that a massacre may occur in the villages here, unless the authorities rapidly intervene,” one of the sources said.

“Adam Suleiman was shot dead on his farm and Adam Hamid Eisa was abducted near Khazan Tunjur, and two women (24 and 21) were gang-raped near Dubo El Omda.”

He added that at least 150 acres of farmland were destroyed as a result of trespassing livestock. “They also robbed a number of villagers of their donkeys and belongings by force of arms.”