Two people killed, one injured in South Darfur state
July 22, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – Two people were killed and another injured on Monday night in the town of Kass, 85 kilometres west of South Darfur state capital Nyala, following a botched kidnapping attempt.
The commissioner of Kass locality, Mohamed Ibrahim, told Sudan Tribune that gunmen had attempted to abduct trader Suleiman Ahmed by forcing him onto a motorcycle.
He said two members of the armed group shot at the trader’s two sons and their cousin while they were trying to rescue him, adding that a government force and a group of residents managed to capture the perpetrators.
On 15 July, the governor of South Darfur state, Adam Mahmoud Jar al-Nabi, declared an indefinite emergency situation in South Darfur state, including a curfew from 7pm to 7am in Nyala.
The decision also banned riding of motorcycles by more than one person, holding weapons while wearing civilian clothes, vehicles driving around without license plates, and wearing Kadamool [turban which covers the face].
It also prohibited tinted glasses on 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.
Businessmen and commercial convoys in South Darfur are regularly attacked by armed gangs which demand ransom for their release.
Earlier this month, unidentified gunmen killed the commissioner of Katila county in South Darfur, Abdallah Yassin, who was returning to his county from the state capital Nyala.
Robbers this month also stormed a mall in Nyala and stole a large sum of money before escaping in a four-wheel-drive vehicle.
meanwhile, a special tribunal has been set up to investigate crimes, with residents supplied with phone numbers to contact authorities to report crimes and other violations of the emergency laws.
(ST)