North Darfur set up investigation committee on killing of Minnawi combatants
March 19, 2022 (EL-FASHER) – North Darfur state has formed a commission of inquiry into the killing of three SLM – Minni Minnawi soldiers killed in the Kutum locality last week.
The peace signatory group on Wednesday accused a former Sudanese army officer from the Border Guards Forces of the attack on its fighters who were escorting the head of Darfur government engineering unit Ayoub Mahmoud.
The Sudan Tribune learnt that North Darfur Governor Nimr Abdel Rahman set up a commission to investigate the attack in the Dissa area of Kutum.
The committee includes officials from the general prosecution, the judiciary, the Sudanese army, Rapid Support Forces, the General Intelligence Service and representatives of the peace signatory groups.
The formation of the investigation committee comes after a denial of the attack by the Darfur Shepherds and Nomads Coordination.
The Arab group said that the SLM-MM forces attacked a group of nomads including women and children. In a self-defence response, the herders repelled the assailants who were not escorting an official, according to the statement.
The return of armed groups in Darfur without implementation of the DDR and other dispositions of the security arrangements contributed to the intercommunal violence in the troubled region.
The Arab tribes who fought alongside the government forces in the counterinsurgency campaigns remained suspicious towards the combatants of the former rebel groups who returned from Libya with heavy arms and armoured vehicles.
UN independent experts in a recent report to the Security Council underlined the need to enhance the protection of civilians in Darfur and to address the drivers of the Darfur conflict including competition for scarce local resources.
(ST)