Darfur rebels name Janjaweed figure leading recent attacks
September 7, 2008 (PARIS) — A Darfur rebel group said they identified the Janjaweed leader who spearheaded attacks on villages in North Darfur this weekend.
“His name is Mohamed Kheir Samijodo. He is from Mahr tribe” Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur, leader of Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) told Sudan Tribune.
The Sudanese army dismissed the accusations indicating they only target carjackers; protect roads, UNAMID and humanitarian convoys.
However, the AU-UN peacekeeping forces confirmed partly the attacks today in its daily bulletin saying the Sudanese troops attacked Disa and Bir Maza, 69 and 90 km north of Kutum.
The UNAMID said also the assailant targeted SLM-Abdel Wahid troops, as one of its commander, Ibrahim Hillu claimed yesterday. The SLM-Unity Command also says they clashed with the army in the same area.
The hybrid mission further spotted attack helicopters landing at Kutum airstrip, a convoy of 120 vehicles and trucks transporting heavy armed troops in the area of Malha.
Al-Nur said the attacks were coordinated with the Sudanese army who used Antonov fighters and helicopter gunships.
“There are 40,000 who were displaced as a result of these attacks. This is a critical time because the rainy season is approaching and there is no food or medicine for them” he said.
“This happens in the 21st century before the eyes of the whole world and weeks after the government brutally killed people inside a camp mostly women and children” he added.
The SLM leader also criticized UNAMID saying they “have not properly lived up to their responsibility to protect civilians”.
Last month Sudanese soldiers and security officers attacked Kalma IDP camp in South Darfur killing at least 30 people and injuring many more.
UNAMID at the time issued a strongly worded statement condemning the “excessive force” used by Sudanese authorities against residents of the camp.
“UNAMID strongly condemns the excessive, disproportionate use of lethal force by the GoS security forces against civilians, which violated their human rights and resulted in unacceptable casualties” the mission said in an unusually harsh statement today.
International experts also say more than 300,000 were killed and 2 million have been driven from their homes by the conflict in Darfur, a region that is roughly the size of France.
(ST)