One person killed by gunmen in South Darfur
May 1, 2015 (NYALA) – One person was killed by gunmen on Thursday night in al-Jeer neighbourhood in South Darfur state capital, Nyala.
A police source said they swiftly cordoned off the incident’s scene, stressing the police patrol unit engaged in heavy exchange of fire with the gunmen inside the cemetery in al-Congo neighbourhood.
He told Sudan Tribune that the police captured one of the perpetrators while another fled, pointing they identified the gunmen and stepped up their efforts to arrest the rest of the group.
The same source described the perpetrators as “repeat offenders”, saying they had been convicted in crimes in the past.
Late last month, unidentified gunmen killed the director of expenditure at the finance ministry, Abdalla Younis in front of his house. Also a merchant, Mahmoud Sultan was killed by gunmen in his home in Sham Al-Nassem neighbourhood in Nyala.
Another armed group also carjacked a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) vehicle in the centre of Nyala before it was later restored by security forces.
The speaker of the state’s legislative council, Salih Abdel-Jabar, had earlier held the government of South Darfur responsible for the deteriorating security situation, saying it failed to implement the community security act.
Last October, South Darfur state’s legislative council passed the community security act which bans use of the four-wheel drive vehicles and motorcycles inside the state.
The law criminalises any person who drives a four-wheel drive vehicle or motorcycle within the state boundaries.
It further provides that those who violate the order will either be imprisoned for up to two years or be fined; pointing that breaking the law for a second time would lead to confiscation of the vehicle for the benefit of the state.
In a bid to curb criminal activities, the state authorities in July 2014 declared an indefinite emergency situation in South Darfur state, including a curfew from 7pm to 7am (local time) in Nyala.
(ST)