South Darfur: 5 killed, 7 injured in attack on IDPs camp
January 11, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – An unidentified armed group has attacked Al-Salam camp, which is located 8 kilometers south of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, killing 5 people including 3 police officers and injuring 7 other Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
The commissioner of Baleel locality, Mohamed Fedail Kaber, told reporters that perpetrators belong to the armed rebel groups, saying that came from Angoja area south of Al-Salam camp.
He added the armed group killed 3 police officers, 2 IDPs, and injured 7 others, stressing that perpetrators mainly intended to loot citizens and commercial shops.
In a separate incident, an armed group belonging to the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement led by Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) also attacked an IDPs camp in Baleel locality and killed 5 people including 4 police officers.
The governor of South Darfur state, Adam Jar Al-Nabi, vowed a decisive response against rebel groups and criticized rebel attacks against innocent citizens inside the camps, emphasizing they would take the necessary legal actions against those who collaborate with rebels.
Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) for its part announced that military operations which it conducted in Nertiti area in central Darfur represent the beginning of the summer campaign declared by president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir, stressed improvement of security situation in Darfur states.
Last December, Bashir vowed to end Sudan’s rebellions in 2014 saying that military campaign carried out in South Kordofan will be followed by another one in Darfur region.
In a related issue, the government of West Darfur state has received the commercial convoy coming from South Darfur state capital of Nyala which was attacked by the rebel armed Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel Wahid Al-Nur (SLM-AW).
The commander of SAF’s infantry division in West Darfur capital of Al-Ginaina, Maj. Gen. Osman Sid Ahmed, stressed that Darfur states are living in peace except from criminals and bandit who attack commercial convoys and private citizens.
The deputy governor of West Darfur state, Abu-Elgasim Al-Amin Baraka, stressed that coordination between West, North, and Central Darfur states led to SAF’s victories against rebel groups, saying that military coordination would continue until ending rebellion.
Violence in Darfur has ebbed from the 2003-04 peak but fighting still occurs as several rounds of peace talks have failed.
The United Nations has estimated that around 300,000 people have died during the conflict in Darfur and some 2 million people been displaced. Khartoum puts the death toll at 10,000.
(ST)