4 suspects held over killing of paramilitary coordinator in South Darfur
July 20, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – Authorities in Sudan’s East Darfur state have arrested four people accused of involvement in the killing of the coordinator of the Popular Defence Forces (PDF) in the locality of Tulus in South Darfur state.
On 12 July, unidentified gunmen killed the PDF coordinator of Tulus area, Ali Adam along with his bodyguard, and three others in Assalaya locality in East Darfur while they were riding vehicles heading South Darfur capital, Nyala.
The commissioner of Assalaya locality, Ali Adam Al-Bushra, said authorities have arrested four suspects in the killing of Adam in Silai’a area in East Darfur.
He told Sudan Tribune on Sunday the local and state authorities caught four perpetrators implicated in the killing of Adam, disclosing that the vehicle and money of the defunct were found in their possession.
Al-Bushra added that investigations concluded that four of the seventeen attackers who make up a criminal network in the west of the state were killed in the incident.
Eyewitness told Sudan Tribune that three people were killed during the heavy exchange of fire between the two sides, adding the gunmen succeeded however to capture three Land Cruisers loaded with weapons and ammunition.
In a separate context, the government of South Darfur state announced it arrested six masked persons and captured a Land Cruiser vehicle running without plates besides confiscating fourteen motorcycles within the framework of implementing the emergency order issued last week.
The commissioner of Nyala, Abdel-Rahman Hussein Gardod, said in press statements on Sunday that criminal charges were filed against the violators of the emergency order, stressing they will be tried in an emergency tribunal at the headquarters of the sixteenth infantry division.
The governor of South Darfur state, Adam Mahmoud Jar Al-Nabi, on Tuesday declared an indefinite emergency situation in South Darfur state including a curfew from 7 pm to 7 am in the capital Nyala.
The decision also included banning riding of motorcycles by more than one person, banning holding weapons while wearing civilian clothes, banning of vehicles driving around without license plates, and banning wearing Kadamool [turban which covers the face].
It also banned driving of shaded cars in Nyala even for government officials unless permission is being obtained from the traffic police. The decision further prevented firing of gunshots in social events in Nyala.
After the tribal clashes of last year, Darfur now is the scene of attacks by militiamen, armed banditry and criminal activities which became a major source of instability during the recent months.
The head of Darfur joint peacekeeping mission, Mohamed Ibn Shambas, last week told the Peace and Security Council of the African Union that “the proliferation of militia groups and attendant criminality and banditry” continues to be a source of concern.
Armed gangs, regularly carry out attacks on businessmen and commercial convoys in South Darfur which known by the criminal activities of these bandits.
CALL FOR CONDEMNING REBEL GROUPS
Meanwhile, the governor of North Darfur state, Osman Mohamed Youssif Kibir, said that a rebel group, which he did not name, attacked a commercial convoy comprised of two vehicles in Amar area 30 kilometers away from the state’s capital, El-Fashir while it was heading to Kabkabiya.
He condemned the incident and demanded the United Nations, African Union –United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), and aid groups to also condemn the incident and take the necessary measures against perpetrators of this horrific crime.
Ashorooq TV reported on Sunday that the attack on the commercial convoy was committed by the Sudan Liberation Movement –Minni Minnawi and the Karbino group.
(ST)