Residents fear for safety after repeated armed robberies in North Darfur

January 2, 2016 (EL-FASHER) – Panic has gripped residents following repeated armed robberies along the road linking North Darfur capital, El-Fasher to the locality of Tawila, some 60 kilometer to the west.

“On Sunday, an armed group robbed passenger luggage and possessions at gunpoint in Jebel Kousa area at the locality of Tawila,” he said.

For his part, Mohamed Ibrahim, a bus operator, told Sudan Tribune that gunmen riding four-wheel drive vehicles or motorcycles threaten bus drivers at Jebel Kousa, 30 kilometer west of el-Fasher.

“They loot whatever they want and we, the buses drivers, have notified the local authorities however the phenomenon continues to occur,” he said .

“In the past, gunmen used to kill [passengers] and block the roads to and from the locality of Tawila. This phenomenon has disappeared during the past period but it has returned these days,” he dded.

Last June, North Darfur governor Abdel-Wahid Youssef accused unnamed parties of seeking to keep the “insecurity and instability” situation in Darfur, pointing to “hidden hands that prompt the security chaos in all Darfur’s five states not only North Darfur”.

He declared a state of maximum readiness among regular forces to control the lawlessness situation in the state and prevented riding of motorcycles, wearing of Kadamool (a turban which covers the face) and holding arms inside the capital, El-Fasher.

(ST)