15 killed and 11 injured in armed attack on bus in South Darfur following opening of Hamada market

(5 December 2014) at 6.50pm on 25 November 2014 a group of four armed men, two dressed in military uniform and two in plain clothes, ambushed a bus carrying 26 civilians travelling from Hamada village to Manawashi village in South Darfur. The armed group opened fire on the bus around 5km east of Manawashi village, killing 15 people and injuring 11 others. The victims, who are residents of Manawashi, were returning to their homes after attending the opening ceremony of a new market in Hamada. All those killed and injured were originally residents of Hamada who had been forcibly displaced to Manawashi in January 2005, when Hamada was attacked by Sudanese Air Forces and Janjawid militias. Up to 100 people were killed during the 2005 attack and the village was destroyed. During their visit to Hamada, the group had attended the opening of the new market, met with friends and family who had recently returned to the area in August 2014, and held prayers for more than 100 people who were killed during the attack in 2005.

The names of those killed on 25 November 2014 are:

1. Adam Abdunabi, 65 years old, (m)
2. Jamaledin Ahmedai, 67 years old, (m)
3. Ahmed Samyjito, 57 years old, (m)
4. Ahmed Abdallah Bushara, 60 years old, (m)
5. Hassan Adam Jalabi, 49 years, old (m)
6. Suleiman Abdallah Mohamed, 60 years old, (m)
7. Ismail Abdulkareem Jamaledin, 70 years old, (m)
8. Alhadi Musa Hassan, (m)
9. Mohamed Adam Ibrahim, 50 years old, (m)
10. Alhadi Mohammed Abdallah (m)
11. Saleh Musa, 35 years old, (m)
12. Asmah Abdallah Ibrahim, 42 years old, (f)
13. Basamatt Ahmed Adam 17 years old, (f)
14. Asmah Abdalraham Mohamed, 35 years old, (f)
15. Afaf Ahmed Adam, 20 years old, (f)

The names of those injured on 25 November 2014 are:

1. Ahmed Suleiman, 35 years old, (f)
2. Ibrahim Yagob, 40 years old, (m)
3. Ahmed Adam Mohamed 56 years old, (m)
4. Hassan Adam Mohamed Hassan, 53 years old, (m)
5. Mohamed Adam Saosi, 24 years old, (m)
6. Ahmed brahim Rashid, 35 years old, (m)
7. Abdulrazig Hassan Abdallah, 65 years old, (m)
8. Musa Abdallah Yunis, 49 years old, (m)
9. Alhadi Ahemd Adam, 28 years old, (m)
10. Musa Adam Mohamed Tahir, (m)
11. Abkar Jamil Ahmed Abdalla, (m)

The deceased were taken to Nyala hospital and buried after. The injured were also taken to Nyala hospital for medical attention.

Background                                                                                                                              

Up to 100 people were reportedly killed and scores others injured in Hamada village in January 2005 during a ground and air assault by Sudanese Armed Forces and Janjawid militias. Following the attack, which reportedly included aerial bombardments from Antonov aircraft, targeted executions, sexual assaults and looting, hundreds of residents fled to the neighboring areas of Manawashi, Nyala and Douma. Hamada village, mostly home to people from the Birgid ethnic group, was destroyed. More than nine years later in August 2014, around 130 families are thought to have returned to Hamada from camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Nyala and Douma. Those travelling by bus on 25 November had visited Hamada to attend the opening of the new market there and meet with recent returnees.

The identities and motivations of the attackers on 25 November are not clear. General insecurity and looting is an increasing problem in South Darfur, obstructing the movement of persons and access for humanitarian agencies, and frustrating IDP returns. Some local leaders have reportedly alleged that the attack may have been an attempt by local militias to stop voluntary returns of IDPs to Hamada.

The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) urges the Sudanese authorities to put in place measures to improve the protection available to the people of Darfur, and:

• Officially and publicly condemn this and all attacks on civilians in the region and make clear that these acts are absolutely prohibited and will be prosecuted.
• Launch an independent and impartial investigation into the attack on 25 November and guarantee that their findings are published promptly and within a clear timeframe. The findings of investigations established by the Sudanese authorities on previous human rights violations in Darfur, such as the killing of fifty-eight civilians in Tabra, North Darfur in 2010, have never been published.
• Put in place tightened restrictions on the use and supply of arms and ammunitions. A concerted effort to control arms and ammunition in the region should be launched, as well as controls over the use of government vehicles and ammunition and the presence of militias and weapons in public places.
• Guarantee full humanitarian access throughout Darfur.

Contact: Mohamed Badawi (English and Arabic), ACJPS Human Rights Monitoring Programme Coordinator, in Kampala, Uganda on +256783693689, email: info@acjps.org

This post is also available in: Arabic