Nigerian pilgrims robbed in Sudan’s Darfur region
KHARTOUM, Oct 22 (AFP) — Gunmen have attacked and robbed a group
of about 300 Nigerian pilgrims as the security situation in Sudan’s
troubled Darfur region continues to worsen, the Akhbar Al Youm daily
reported Friday.
News of the incident coincided with the opening in Abuja,
Nigeria of a second round of African Union-sponsored peace
negotiations between the government and rebels in Darfur.
The paper quoting pilgrims as saying they were robbed by up to
40 hooded gunmen who ambushed a convoy Wednesday night at Tawela,
northeast of El-Feshir, the capital of North Darfur state.
The pilgrims were traveling to the Saudi city of Mecca to
perform the Ummra, or lesser pilgrimage, which normally coincides
with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Akhbar Al Youm said the gunmen also abducted 10 of 17 Sudanese
accompanying the Nigerians.
North Darfur Governor Osman Yusuf Kibir accused rebels of the
Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement of
being responsible, saying the incident was another violation of
their April 8 ceasefire agreement with the government.
Kibir said “the rebels showed no respect for the pilgrims, or
for the holy month of Ramadan, nor for Nigeria which is now hosting
the peace talks.”
The pilgrims have reportedly filed a complaint with the AU
Ceasefire Commission, the body monitoring truce violations.
Akhbar Al Youm said the Nigerian ambassador in Khartoum
telephoned Kibir over the incident, which he denounced as an
“inhumane attack during the holy month and at the onset of the
negotiations in the Nigerian capital.”
Sudanese government officials have routinely accused the rebels
of harassing civilians in the region, lootings and abductions,
charges the rebels vehemently deny.
They blame the attacks on groups such as the pro-government Arab
Janjaweed militias, responsible for many atrocities against farmers
in the region.
Rebels launched an armed insurrection in February 2003 to
protest what they said was the political and economic
marginalisation of the region’s black people by the Arab-led
government in Khartoum.