Rift in West Darfur garrison over anti-militia operation

Governor and armed retinue rush to Zalingei when Border Intelligence unit refuses action against outlaw militia Military sources in West Darfur revealed to Radio Dabanga that deep disagreement emerged between the head of the Zalingei garrison and members of the Border Intelligence Force.  The latter unit objected to the government’s decision to use airplanes to bomb a region where a renegade militia was encamped. 

The militia in question is allegedly behind a number of criminal acts, including a shooting last Monday that targeted a cash-laden vehicle.  In that incident, gunmen in Um Khair attacked the vehicle as it was transporting salaries for the army to Tenku, killing 7 of the 11 soldiers guarding the vehicle and wounding four others.

The sources stated that the Governor of West Darfur, El Shartai Jafar Abdul Hakim, who was in Garsila as of Friday, had arrived in the state capital from Khartoum on Thursday. He then went directly to Garsila along with 22 Land Cruiser cars loaded with guns. He held a two-day meeting with the military heads in the region and the commissioner. The sources said that the meeting’s outcome was to order the withdrawal of all the forces in the locality into the town of Garsila in preparation for an attack on the headquarters of the commander of the militia, Yusuf Kabro.

The sources also revealed that the Border Intelligence Force refused to participate in the military operation because it targeted their relatives. The head of the militia that carried out the Um Khair operation was allegedly the same person who robbed the salaries of workers in Habila last year, which were worth 800,000 pounds. He was also blamed for the kidnapping of two pilots who were later released for a ransom of 100,000 pounds.