South Darfur governor: ‘Shoot to kill, dig trench around Nyala to curb insecurity’

The newly appointed governor of South Darfur has ordered police and security forces in the state to “kill any outlaw” in case they offer resistance or refuse to comply with their directions.

Speaking at a ceremony organised by the South Darfur authorities for the Popular Police Forces in Nyala on Wednesday, Governor Adam El Faki said that the rampant security in the state capital should be curbed by all means.

He also addressed the army forces, telling them to “just fire an RPG missile at any hijacker. Just finish off the thief and the vehicle!” The authorities will not be obliged to pay “blood money” for perpetrators liquidated in this way, he stressed.

El Faki also warned the regular forces, “be them army or militia troops”, that if one of them is caught red-handed in any crime, “he will be tried by a firing squad”.

The former governor of South Kordofan urged the population of Nyala to resist any assailant, “even if you have to kill him”, and told them to provide the security forces in the state with “any information about outlaws and their hideouts”. He warned them “not to harbour any bandit”.

He also pledged to carry out “surprise inspections in those districts, suspected to harbour dens of criminals. Any perpetrator arrested will immediately be deported to Port Sudan to be tried there, so that his relatives will not be able to free him.”

Trench and fences

In order to further restore security in Nyala, El Faki said that he ordered the digging of a trench around the huge million-city. “There will be seven passageways left, to prevent the hijack of cars. In addition, a CCTV system will be developed with 60 monitoring cameras.”

The South Darfur governor said that in order, 50 young armed recruits will be posted in each district, to protect the citizens and help restore security in the million-city. “In addition, each neighbourhood will be surrounded by a security fence, to prevent the escape of perpetrators, who should better be killed immediately”.

Gen. Ahmed Osman Kheir, chief of the South Darfur state police, reported during the ceremony that 19 recidivists have been arrested, from a list of 40 criminals against whom a case has been filed. He also urged the population of Nyala to help out by providing information.

Rule of law

In response to the governor’s speech, lawyer and senior member of the South Darfur branch of the Sudanese Communist Party, Adam Sharif, told Radio Dabanga in an interview to be broadcast on Friday that the people hoped for a new government that would restore the rule of law in the state.

“Yet we were shocked to hear these weird statements from the governor that will certainly lead to chaos. El Faki seems not to care about violating the Sudanese law, the Constitution, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

For his part, Mohamed Abdelsalam, co-vice president of the National Umma Party in South Darfur, commented that no authority has the right to pass the judiciary and order the “shooting to kill” under the rule of law.

He noted, however, that “though the utterances of the governor are legally unacceptable, the residents of Nyala may accept them. They are desperate because of the ongoing insecurity. “Every day, the people witness an assault, burglary, or hijack by force of arms. So they hope that the new governor will make a difference. If the carrot does not work, the only alternative is the stick.” 

Emergency measures

In July 2014, the South Darfur authorities imposed a number of emergency measures in an attempt to curb the increasing lawlessness in the state. An Emergency Court was established in August, to speedily try offenders of the measures that banned unregistered vehicles, the wearing of a turban covering the face (kadamool), the carrying of weapons by civilians, and riding a motorcycle by more than one person.

Though the authorities announced more than once that the measures were successful, gunmen continued to terrorise the residents of Nyala and surroundings. In April this year, the head of the South Darfur Chamber of Commerce said that the emergency measures were “not enough” to tackle the insecurity.