Darfur and Sudan News Update by Radio Dabanga (31 December – 6 January)East Jebel Marra, January 6, 2015 (SSNA) — Militia troops of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and militiamen on camels and horses have begun ‘cleansing’ villages and water resources in the areas north of East Jebel Marra after government forces gained control over the area of Fanga, about 30 km northwest of Shangil Tobaya, North Darfur. The sweep, which began on Thursday evening, was backed by fighter jets of the Sudanese Air Force. “The operations are taking the shape of a scorched earth policy,” a witness told Radio Dabanga. Reportedly about 15,000 residents have sought refuge in the camps for the displaced in Tawila locality, and thousands are also hiding in the mountains of East Jebel Marra region since the large-scale attacks. Radio Dabanga received reports from fleeing people west of Fanga that they passed “dozens of bodies” lying out in the open.
Hundreds of people arrived on Monday in Zamzam camp for displaced people, near El Fasher. “They told us that they had left hundreds more families behind, without water or food,” a sheikh in Zamzam explained. A source in the area reported that RSF troops plundered villages south of the capital of North Darfur on Friday and Saturday. Thousands of livestock were stolen from the villagers. A source from inside Tamarawa village said that militiamen shot dead nine women, who tried to prevent the attackers from stealing cows.
‘Conflicts within Darfur’s LJM’, ‘imbalance in DRA funds’
January 5 – 2015 NYALA Dr El Tijani Sese, head of the Darfur Regional Authority, has admitted the existence of conflicts within the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) he chairs, but denied that they may lead to a split. He told journalists in Khartoum on Saturday that there are no factions within the movement that are reluctant to implement the security arrangements as stipulated in the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD), for which the Authority is responsible. Simmering conflicts about the delayed execution of the disarmament and reintegration programme seem to have divided the LJM, which was formed in 2010 by factions of rebel groups. With the upcoming general elections in 2015, LJM Secretary-General Bahar Idris Abu Garda intends to transform the movement into a political party, he announced on 28 December. Abu Garda stressed that his group does not intend to split from the LJM.
According to a Darfur Regional Authority (DRA) minister, the body underperforms and neglects development projects in Darfur. Development Minister Tajeldin Bashir Niyam strongly criticised the “large imbalance” the DRA management has caused in its funds and resources, in Nyala on Sunday. “If the funds had been used appropriately, it would have changed many Darfuri lives. But […] the total amount used for projects and infrastructure in Darfur does not exceed $200 million.” Bashir Niyam submitted his resignation last September over disagreements with DRA head Sese, but prominent Darfuri leaders convinced Niyam to stay at his post.
More news from Radio Dabanga:
Habaniya, Fellata sign peace protocol in South Darfur
January 6 – 2015 NYALA Chiefs of the Habaniya and Fellata tribes successfully concluded a peaceful coexistence conference in Nyala, capital of South Darfur, on Sunday. The tribal leaders signed a protocol in which they agreed that any crime committed by a tribesman will be handled as an individual…
Six die in raid on North Darfur village
January 5 – 2015 KUTUM LOCALITY Six people were shot dead in an attack by militiamen on Shagar Gei village in Kutum locality, North Darfur, today. “At about 10 am, dozens of government-backed militiamen stormed the village, north of Kutum town,” a listener from the area told Dabanga…
AnotherEl Midan print-run confiscated by Sudan’s security
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West Darfur girls’ team wins national basketball cup
January 5 – 2015 SENNAR The girls’ team of West Darfur won the Sudanese basketball cup on Sunday. They beat the North Darfur team in the final match of the 24th national schools’ basketball championship, that took place in Sennar, eastern Sudan, last week. The school team…
‘Constitutional amendments make Sudan a police state’: MP
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Yellow fever vaccination campaign completed in Sudan
January 4 – 2015 KHARTOUM The yellow fever vaccination campaign, launched by the Ministry of Health in many states throughout Sudan, in December, has reached almost four million people between nine months and 60 years-old. According to the Ministry of Health, an estimated 1.9 million people…
West Kordofan sit-in continues, power outage in North Darfur
January 2 – 2015 LAGAWA / EL GEZIRA / EL FASHER The demonstrators in Lagawa town, West Kordofan, remain determined to continue their strike for the improvement of vital basic services in the area. Their sit-in entered its 55th day today. Shopkeepers and residents in North Darfur’s capital…
Sudan’s opposition hope for peace and freedom in 2015
January 1 – 2015 ADDIS ABABA / KHARTOUM / NORTH DARFUR / EASTERN SUDAN On the occasion of Independence Day, celebrated in Sudan today, National Umma Party leader El Sadig El Mahdi, and several other opposition leaders expressed their hope that 2015 will bring freedom…
Khartoum Criminal Court acquits ten students from Darfur
December 31 – 2014 KHARTOUM NORTH El Doroshab Criminal Court in Khartoum North acquitted ten Darfuri students of the University of Bahri on Tuesday. “The cases filed by the security apparatus against them were closed, as the prosecution could not provide any evidence about their…
‘Sudan govt, SRF rebels may meet in South Africa’: El Mahdi
December 31 – 2014 ADDIS ABABA Preparations are underway for a meeting between the Sudanese government and the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) to discuss the cessation of hostilities in the country. The leader of the National Umma Party (NUP), El Sadig El Mahdi, said in an interview with…
Sudan security denies Unamid, USAID access to Zamzam camp
December 31 – 2014 ZAMZAM CAMP Security agents have prevented representatives of Unamid and USAID from entering Zamzam camp for the displaced in El Fasher locality, North Darfur. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a camp elder said that Unamid officers were stopped by the security when they…
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