Masked gunmen steal salaries of Nyala judges in broad daylight

May 29, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – A number of masked gunmen managed to intercept a vehicle carrying salaries of judicial employees in South Darfur state capital of Nyala on Thursday.

Eyewitnesses said an SUV car provoked a traffic accident with a vehicle belonging to Nyala judicial authority carrying 220,000 Sudanese pounds in the center of town and that robbers immediately took the money at gunpoint and then fled .

The state police blamed the incident on judiciary for not abiding by the directives of requesting police escort when transferring money.

The Nyala police chief Ahmed Osman said that the robbery occurred upon the return of judicial staff members from the bank carrying the salaries.

“The police directed all institutions not to move any sums of money without a guard , which was not adhered to by the staff of the judiciary,” he said.

Osman said that competent organs started investigations into the incident to search for the perpetrators.

South Darfur has witnessed an escalation in violence and lawlessness in recent months amid clashes between Darfuri rebels, Sudanese government forces and government-sponsored militias.

(ST)