More 3 IDPs killed in Central Darfur: rebels

May 23, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed three displaced people in Ardiba camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Garcila area of Central Darfur state, said two armed groups in Jebel Marra on Wednesday.

This attack on IDPs is the second of its kind in the Central Darfur state, after the killing of a displaced woman residing in a camp in Zalingei on Monday.

Two rebel groups, Sudan Liberation Movement -Abdel Wahid (SLM-AW) and SLM-Transitional Council said the government militiamen opened fire on two civilians at Abuja market in Ardiba camp of Garcila, because they tried to prevent them from looting their belongings.

On Wednesday, the assailants backed by the security forces attacked the mourners at the cemetery and killed female and injured several others, the statements said.

In a separate statement, the IDPs association in Central Darfur IDPs condemned the attack and called on the hybrid peacekeeping operation to protect civilians in line with its mandate.

The IDPs further called on the United Nations, the African Union, the Security Council and the United States to convene an emergency session and issue a clear decision to stop these bloody attacks, according to the statement.

The Sudanese authorities didn’t issue a statement on this attack.

AMNESTY CALLS TO INVESTIGATE

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Amnesty International has called for an immediate investigation into the killing of a woman and several others wounded in Zalingei Monday.

“The victims of this appalling attack were forced to flee from their homes by the violence that has plagued Darfur for years, and this camp was supposed to be a place of safety,” said Joan Nyanyuki, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East Africa.

“Unless the perpetrators of gross human rights violations like this are brought to justice, the voluntary and safe return to the home of Darfur’s displaced will remain a distant prospect,” Nyanyuki further said.

(ST)