Darfur News Update by Radio Dabanga (26 November – 2 December)
December 2, 2014 (SSNA) — Fifteen people were killed in an attack on a vehicle by militiamen in South Darfur on 25 November. Others sustained injuries. The incident occurred in Wadi Tabbaldin, 15 km east of Manawashi. About 30 people, mostly Imams and Koran scholars, had visited the market in Hamada, one of the villages to which displaced people have begun to return, that Tuesday. On their way back to Manawashi, several militiamen ambushed their vehicle and opened fire, Sheikh Omer Mohammed Ahmed related to Radio Dabanga. The South Darfur State Governor will form a committee to investigate the incident, committed by “four unidentified gunmen”. Maj. Gen. Adam Mahmoud Jarelnabi added that the spread of arms among civilians “leads to the emergence of some crimes”. “But there is a significant improvement in the security situation,” he said, claiming that the security in the state and in Nyala city is better than four months ago.
An Omda of Manawashi, Mubarak Abulgasim Adam Yaqoub, told Radio Dabanga that the attack on the vehicle on Tuesday had a political motive. Jarelnabi confirmed that the crime was a counteract against the voluntary returns, accusing entities which he did not name of being “unwilling to implement the voluntary repatriation”.
The head of religious affairs of the Association of Darfur Displaced and Refugees has condemned the attack. Sheikh Abdallah Mohamed Abdelrahman also pointed to the reported mass rape by army troops in Tabit, North Darfur, on 31 October, as an example of “the ongoing, widespread attacks on citizens and displaced all over the region”. He appealed to the International Union for Muslim Scholars and Muslims to stand by “their brothers in Sudan, and especially in Darfur”.
Sudan police raid church in Khartoum, churchgoers fined
Police forces raided the Evangelical church in Khartoum North this morning, and began demolishing the building. 37 young members of the parish praying in the church were detained. Pastor Yahya Abdelrahim Falo told Radio Dabanga how a police force in nine vehicles, accompanied by bulldozers, arrived at about 6 am on Tuesday morning. “They started to demolish the outer walls of the building. Others raided the church, where a group of young Christians were fasting and praying,” Rev. Falo said. He reported that the 37 arrested youngsters were divided into three groups, which were all fined for ‘public disturbance’ at different courts.
On 19 November, police and special forces confiscated the house of the senior pastor of the Evangelical church in Khartoum North. They demolished the youth house, showing a court order that ordered the vacation of the premises as investors had reportedly rented the place. In response, leaders from various churches in Khartoum, students, and other church members staged small protests. “Today we were crying and praying for the situation [to improve],” a witness told Radio Dabanga that day.
Since South Sudan’s independence in 2011, several Catholic and Protestant church buildings in Khartoum state were demolished or confiscated by the authorities. The secretary-general of the Sudan Council of Churches, Rev. Kodi El Ramli, told Radio Dabanga early September this year that the Council has received many complaints about harassment and discrimination of Christians. “They are systematically obstructed to visit their churches.”
More news from Radio Dabanga:
Rape victim waits full day for treatment in Central Darfur
ZALINGEI LOCALITY (1 Dec.) – Two militiamen raped a 12-year-old girl of the Hamidiya camp for the displaced in Zalingei locality, Central Darfur on Sunday. As the police was extremely slow with issuing the… FULL STORY
Militia attacks ex-rebel camp in North Darfur
KABKABIYA LOCALITY (1 Dec.) – Dozens of men were killed and wounded in Kabkabiya locality, North Darfur, on Friday, in an attack by militiamen on a military camp. Former rebels of the Justice and Equality… FULL STORY
Vaccination campaign in Darfur’s Jebel Marra
ZALINGEI (1 Dec.) – The Ministry of Health of Central Darfur state will start a ten-day vaccination campaign against yellow fever in Central and North Jebel Marra localities today. The two… FULL STORY
Sudan: Two raped, 20 wounded in militia attack on Omdurman district
OMDURMAN (1 Dec.) – Two women were raped and more than 20 people sustained injuries during an attack by elements of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on displaced people living at the… FULL STORY
Sudan’s Al Bashir rejects merging of peace talks, tells Unamid to leave
KHARTOUM (30 Nov.) – The Sudanese government is seeking to achieve separate comprehensive cease-fire agreements for the war-torn areas of Darfur, and the Two Areas (Blue Nile and South Kordofan). It… FULL STORY
Ransom paid, abducted farmers released in Central Darfur
NIERTETI LOCALITY (30 Nov.) – On Thursday, militiamen released seven displaced farmers abducted two weeks ago in Nierteti locality, Central Darfur, after their families had paid a ransom of SDG 75,000 ($13,000… FULL STORY
Sudan, Darfur rebels fail to agree on peace talk agenda
ADDIS ABABA (28 Nov.) – The Sudanese government and the rebel groups in the peace negotiations in Addis Ababa have failed to strike an agreement on the Darfur conflict and establish an agenda since the… FULL STORY
Fever in North Darfur localities claims lives
TAWILA (28 Nov.) – Residents of a camp for displaced people in Tawila locality, North Darfur, have reported a rise in the number of deaths caused by a spreading unknown fever, along with a lack of… FULL STORY
More Darfuri students dismissed from Bahri university
KHARTOUM / MELLIT (28 Nov.) – Khartoum’s University of Bahri dismissed another 10 students from study for two years on Thursday, putting the total number of expelled Darfuri students at 33. The Darfuri had… FULL STORY
‘More than 150 killed’ in West Kordofan tribal clash
MUGLAD (28 Nov.) – In renewed tribal clashes between two Misseriya clans in West Kordofan, 156 people were reportedly killed this week, and more than a hundred tribesmen sustained injuries. A… FULL STORY
‘Radio Dabanga has grilled and devoured us’: Sudan MPs
KHARTOUM (27 Nov.) – The Sudanese government has outlined ‘radical measures’ to attempt to jam and disrupt broadcasts by Radio Dabanga. On Tuesday, the Minister of Information and Communications,… FULL STORY
Sudan to up gold production by 64 tons
KHARTOUM (27 Nov.) – On Sunday, Sudan announced a 64-ton increase in gold production this year, up from 34 tons in 2013. This signifies an important advance in exploitation of gold and minerals in the… FULL STORY
Sudanese demonstrate worldwide against alleged mass rape in Tabit
INTERNATIONAL (26 Nov.) – On Tuesday, members of the Sudanese diaspora with went out in mass demonstrations in several countries including the USA, Canada, Australia, Norway, Sweden, and Israel, to… FULL STORY
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