More than 10,000 livestock stolen in North Darfur

Elements of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have stolen more than 10,000 head of livestock during their attacks on several rural areas in North Darfur last week.Citizens in North Darfur who fled the SRF attacks on the areas of Malawi and Foda, west of Mellit, the areas of Sarafaya , west of El Fasher, Kobe, in the area of Korma, and the areas of Um Sidr, Hashaba, and Baashim, northeast of Kutum town, last week, estimate that the volume of livestock looted totals at least 10,000 heads. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, displaced in Kutum, Kafod, Fata Borno, Korma, and Tawila reported that they had witnessed the arrival and passage of “the government-backed rapid support militias, commanded by the security forces” on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. “The militias passed by in vehicles, and on camels and horses, with thousands of cows, camels, sheep, and goats. The vehicles and camels were loaded with furniture, clothes, mattresses, and other kinds of household items. They came from the north and proceeded towards the area south of Kutum and Kabkabiya.” File photo: Cattle traders at the livestock market in Foro Baranga, West Darfur, near the Chadian border. It is one of the biggest livestock markets in Africa, with exportations to Libya, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. (Albert González Farran/Unamid) Related:Bombardments on areas in Mellit, North Darfur, kill at least five (21 March 2014)At least eight villages destroyed in area west of North Darfur’s El Fasher (21 March 2014)Dead, injured as more than 16 villages attacked in North Darfur (18 March 2014)Attacks in North Darfur’s Kutum displace more than 30,000 (17 March 2014)