Sudan V-P: No compensation for those who surrender arms

Second Vice-President Hasabo Abdelrahman has said that the current disarmament campaign is being carried out without giving any compensation to those who surrender their weapons.

He said that the reason for this is that the compensation costs large sums, stimulates the arms traffickers, and encourages the trade and flow of weapons from outside the borders of Sudan.

Yesterday in his orientation to the Council of States, Abdelrahman stressed that “the campaign in six months has achieved the imposition of prestige of the state, the rule of law, the low rates of committed crimes, the disappearance of the phenomenon of carrying weapons in the states of Darfur, as well as the disappearance of tribal conflict and low rates of looting and thefts using weapons, safety and tranquillity and the high rates of voluntary return of refugees and displaced people”.

Abdelrahman announced that any vehicle that is not registered by May 14 will be confiscated.

The national committee for the collection of weapons and vehicle registration held a meeting with all security committees from the five states of Darfur in Nierteti.

The national committee, led by Abdelrahman, informed the press after the meeting earlier this week that the goal was to re-mobilise all forces and “harness the possibilities to supplement the national campaign to collect weapons”.

Nearly one year ago, Khartoum announced a large disarmament campaign in the country, to begin with in Darfur and Kordofan.

Members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Sudan’s main government militia, and the army were tasked to collect illegal arms and unlicensed vehicles from civilians. In North Darfur alone, more than 12,500 RSF troops were deployed for this purpose.

Now, the vice-president has threatened those who do not collaborate in the process of collection illegal weapons of serious consequences they will face. “There are punishments awaiting some of them to the extent of life imprisonment and execution.”