El Siteeha weekly market plundered in North Darfur

Masked gunmen in three vehicles attacked the Thursday market in the area of El Siteeha, Um Keddada locality in North Darfur today. El Siteeha market is one of the largest weekly markets in the area, where merchants and customers from various localities of Um Keddada and from North Kordofan come to trade, eyewitnesses told Radio Dabanga.They said that the unidentified gunmen stormed the market at about 1pm on Thursday and plundered the entire market. They loaded the ‘booty’ into their three vehicles, as well as two other vehicles they stole from visitors of the market. “The gunmen took all the blankets and pullovers, even from the people who had just bought them. They filled large sacks with the money they had stolen, amounting to about SDG2,300,000 ($400,000).” The witnesses said that the robbers left the market at 4pm, taking the “western road” towards the area of Abu Himeira, south of Um Keddada town. They added that the citizens El Siteeha strongly denounced the absence of the authorities. “No police was seen, though the robbers stayed for four hours at the market.” File photo: Tombac shop in El Fasher market (Albert González Farran/Unamid)