Darfur IDP accuse govt, armed groups of looting attacks
December 29, 2021 (KHARTOUM) – The Coordination of the Internally Displaced People (IDP) in Darfur accused the government forces and the groups’ signatory of the Juba Peace Agreement of looting the UNAMID premises and the World Food Programme warehouses in El-Fasher.
On Wednesday, Adam Rahal, Spokesman for the IDP Coordination, issued a statement condemning the recent lootings in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, and appealed to the United Nations to investigate “these crimes”.
Rahal further denounced the insecurity in Darfur caused by “the Sudanese security forces, the Janjaweed militias with their various names, and the armed groups that signed the Juba Agreement.”
He went further to say that the looting of the WFP, which provides humanitarian assistance to the displaced in Darfur, aims to force the displaced to return to their areas of origin at a time when there is no security in the region.
The accusations show the gap between peace groups and civilians in the Darfur region, say observers.
In a related development, Antonio Guterres condemned the looting of the UN facilities in North Darfur and called on the Sudanese government to provide a safe working atmosphere for the humanitarian operations in the troubled region.
“The Secretary-General further calls upon the Sudanese authorities to facilitate a safe working environment and passage for remaining United Nations operations in El Fasher.”
“He also extends his gratitude to the UN civilian and uniformed personnel who remained on the ground under these challenging circumstances,” further reads a statement released on Wednesday.
According to the UN, more than 1,900 metric tons of food commodities were looted. The humanitarian assistance was meant to feed 730,000 displaced people for a month.
Commenting on the armed lootings in El Fasher, the former North Darfur Governor, Mohamed Arabi, wrote that the current insecurity in the state capital was a natural result of the failure to implement security arrangements agreed in the peace process.
“Abandoning tens of thousands of combatants on vehicles, heavily armed, without shelter, money, nor salaries, is preparation for a new war,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
The first governor of North Darfur after the Revolution claimed that the leaders of the armed groups received five million dollars from the Public Treasury, one million for each group to spend on their forces.
He added that the recent looting is the beginning of a new phase of “lawlessness” in Darfur.
The military component has not implemented the security arrangements in Darfur, stressing that this operation requires huge money that the government cannot afford.
(ST)