North Darfur man severely beaten for motorcycle

Members of the Border Guards beat up a resident of Abu Shouk camp at the North Darfur capital of El Fasher on Saturday afternoon.

A neighbour of the victim reported to Radio Dabanga that three elements of the Border Guards seized Abdallah Mohamed Ahmed (32) at the Abu Shouk camp market.

“They arrived in a four-wheel- drive vehicle and lingered at the market. After about three hours, they ordered Ahmed who was passing by, to hand them his motorcycle,” he said.

“When he refused to do so, they chased him while firing heavily into the air. They beat him with their rifle butts until he lost consciousness. They took him with them, and later dropped him and his motorcycle at Wadi Abuja, between Abu Shouk and El Salam camp.”

He said that Ahmed remained unconscious until 12 pm. His family reported the incident to the camp police but they did not act.

Border Intelligence Brigade

Border Guards is the popular term for the Border Intelligence Brigade, which is part of Sudanese Military Intelligence. It is funded by the army and has its headquarters in Khartoum.

The Border Intelligence Brigade became the main vehicle for the incorporation of irregulars into the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), after criticism of the government’s counterinsurgency operations in Darfur mounted. They were given military identity cards and salaries, Sudan Human Security Baseline Assessment (HSBA) explains in a 2010 Small Arms Survey report.

Sudanese military sources portrayed the shift as an attempt to ‘control’ the irregulars; human rights organisations said it was to ‘hide’ them and keep them armed, HSBA states.