African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies ACJPS | المركز الافريقي لدراسات العدالة و السلام
(21 December 2021) The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) expresses deep concern over the deterioration of security in Sudan, specifically in West, North and South Darfur where violent attacks have left several casualties. ACJPS has documented the killing of 22 civilians in a renewed attack by armed nomads on villages in Jabaal moon before the signing of the non-aggression pact on 9 December 2021. In 3 other incidents, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) were killed and injured by armed nomads, including the rape of a 12-year-old girl in North and West Darfur. Also, security forces rescued three abducted men in North Darfur. In other incidents, 8 civilians and 3 Rapid Support Forces (RSF) officers were killed in a clash between the two parties in West Darfur whilst 28 Juba Peace Agreement troops were killed in an ambush in West Darfur. In South Darfur, 3 IDPs were killed by armed nomads in Meshing locality.
ACJPS condemns arbitrary attacks against civilians in Darfur region and calls on:
Sudanese authorities to:
- Officially and publicly condemn these arbitrary attacks, unlawful killings and injury and make it clear that these acts are absolutely prohibited, and perpetrators will be held to account.
- Launch an independent and impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding the attacks in Darfur and guarantee that their findings are published promptly and within a clear timeframe. This investigation should also address conflict-related gender-based violence
- To immediately prioritize the protection of civilians in Darfur region. Put in place tightened restrictions on the use and supply of arms and ammunitions, and a concerted effort to control arms and ammunition in the region should be launched, as well as controls over the use of ammunition and the presence of militias and weapons in public places.
- Ensure that police and law enforcement officers are deployed in the area to ensure security.
ACJPS further calls on the international community to prioritize the protection of civilians and security situation in Darfur and deploy resources to ensure the protection of civilians in the region and assist with independent and impartial investigations of human rights violations with an aim of ensuring accountability.
22 civilians killed in a renewed attack on villages in Jabaal Moon, West Darfur
On 8 December 2021, a group of armed nomads launched new attacks from the North and East on villages in Jabaal Moon. A reliable source informed ACJPS that the attackers included RSF officers who reached Serba locality driving RSF Land cruiser vehicles. The officers reportedly removed RSF uniforms and vehicle registration plates before joining the attackers. The villagers denied handing over 8 cars captured from the attackers during a previous attack in November 2021 to SPL/ IL leader, Abbas Asil. The attackers burned five villages of Garadai, Haraya , Um kiteer , Gozie 1 and Gozie 2, all in Jabaal Moon. 22 civilians were killed, the nomads are yet to declare the number of casualties from their side. A reliable source informed ACJPS that they lost about 50-60 people.
The deceased are:
- Ibrahim Musa Mohamed
- Saudi Abdallah Hasan
- Salah Abakar Fadul
- Adam Abdallah Hassan
- Ishaq Mohamed Adam
- Abdallah daoud Ishaq
- Adam Ibrahim Altoom
- Noor Eldien Aldoum Abdallah
- Yahiya Ibrahim Adam
- Ali Arabi Ali
- Mohamed Ahmed Mohamed
- Abkark Ibrahim Yagoup
- Abdallah tabit Abdallah
- Ibrahim Mohamed Suleiman
- Zakary Adam Adam
- Bahite Abdul Rahman Monen
- Aljazokky Ibrahim Yahiya
- Abdi Abakar Abdul Aziz
- Abakar Ibrahim Ali
- Ibrahim Wad Gili
- Yahiya Idris Ismail
- Ishaq Babkir Abdul Rahman
The injured are:
- Siraj Yagoup Abdallah
- Yosef Ibrahim ishaq
- Izz Eldien Adam omer
- Yahiya Ishaq Eltoom
They have all been transferred to Selia Hospital in West Darfur for medical care.
The signing of non-aggression pact by conflicting parties in Jabaal Moon
On 9 December 2021, 15 community leaders of the Arab Nomads and 14 of the Mesearia Jabaal tribe signed a non-aggression pact in the presence of Colonel Musa Hameed Ambelo, the Rapid Support Forces’ Chairperson to the Tribal Reconciliation Committee. The pact was signed in the presence of 4 witnesses including Mr. Saad Bahar Eldien, the Sultan of the Masalit tribe and other community leaders in West Darfur. The pact runs until 31 December 2021 as the committee tries to resolve the root causes of clashes between the two tribes. A reconciliation conference is scheduled before 31 December 2021. The pact was signed at division eight of SAF Headquarter in Elgenina, West Darfur.
ACJPS has been reliably informed that on 11 December 2021, the Mesearia Jabaal tribesmen started disregarding the pact on grounds that it does not represent the voice of their community but the will of the signatories. They also claim that two of their leaders who were not present at the signing of the pact had their signatures forged on the pact. Youth leaders from the nomadic Mahameed tribe also rejected the pact saying that all signatories are affiliated with the RSF leader, General Mohammed Hamdan Dagolo (Hemite) and are not recognized by their communities as independent leaders who can successfully address roots causes of clashes between the two tribes. Colonel Ambelo, a former RSF commander in West Darfur was transferred to Khartoum after incidents of attack on krinding IDP Camp in December 2019 where he was reportedly present during the attack but did nothing to stop it. His name is mentioned in the investigation report but he has not been included in the list of suspects by Office of the Attorney General of Darfur.
A similar document was signed in February 2021 between Masalit tribe and the Arabs in Elgenina after the attack on Kirinding camp on 19 January 2021 in presence of Mr. Mohamed Suleiman Alfaki, the former member of Sudanese Sovereign Council and General Abdul Rahim Daglo, the acting commander of RSF. This one was also rejected by the youth of Masalit tribe (resistance committees) on grounds that the signatories don’t represent conflicting parties.
Security forces rescues three abducted men in Kabkabia locality, North Darfur
On 9 December 2021, the North Darfur authorities made a statement that joint government forces from SAF and RSF rescued three men working for the Turkish power company in Elfashir after unknown kidnappers abducted them. A reliable source informed ACJPS that the three men were rescued in Kabkabia locality and the kidnappers were wearing military uniforms. The victims included a Turkish national, Syrian national and a Sudanese employed as a driver. The kidnapping happened on 7 December 2021 from the main street in Elfashir town after working hours. Two days before, General Himite, the deputy Chairman of the Sudanese Sovereign Council and leader of the Rapid Support Forces made a statement that “there are not many active terrorist groups either in Khartoum or across Sudan” during an interview with RT Arabic T.V Channel on 5 December 2021.
Four farmers attacked by armed Arabs in Donkey Shatta village, North Darfur
On 8 December 2021, a group of armed Arab nomads attacked four civilian farmers living in Donkey Shatta village, located North West of Elfashir, North Darfur. The incident happen when one of the victims, Mr. Sidiq Mohamed Abakar chased camels belonging to the Arabs out of his farm. The Arabs thereafter beat him with lashes so severely that he sustained injuries. The Arabs shot three other civilians who came to the rescue of Mr. Sidiq. The four have been transferred to Elfashir hospital for medical care. Their names are:
- Sidiq Mohamed Abakar
- Abdul Raziq Abakar Haroun
- Abdul Rahman Ismail Suleiman
- Mahadi Abdallah Moahmed
Eight civilians and three RSF officers killed in a clash in West Darfur
On 8 December 2021, armed robbers from the Arab Nomads robbed a lorry carrying goods in Murhaka village in West Darfur. The driver escaped but left the owner of the truck behind. The driver then made a phone call to family of the owner of the truck to inform them about incident. In response, 8 family members armed themselves and a started a journey to the location of the incident. On their way, at about 06:00pm, RSF officers traveling in 3 cars stopped them. The officers asked them why they were armed and where they were headed, and accused them of heading to support Mesearia Jabaal tribe in Jabaal Moon locality. While they were still being questioned, another RSF group traveling in 13 cars led by a Major arrived. Like the rest, the Major also accused the group of going to Jabaal Moon to support the Mesearia Jabaal tribe. The situation got heated and both parties stared firing at each other. All the 8 civilians were killed alongside 3 RSF officers.
The deceased are:
- Mohamed Ibrahim (m)
- Gamar Eldien Ibrahim (m)
- Abakar Ibrahim (m)
- Suleiman Ibrahim (m)
- Abdul Halim Musa Ibrahim (m)
- Maki Mohamed Yahiya (m)
- Ibrahim Galdo Galdo (m)
- Alsadiq Mohamed Adam (m), an advocate and brother to the truck owner.
They have all been buried in Elegnina town.
The three RSF officers killed are:
- Abakar Aboh (m)
- Hamoda Abushora(m)
- Ahmed Abdul Rahman (m)
Armed nomads injure 5 civilians and rape a girl child in Marafatah village in North Darfur
On 6 December 2021, a group of 11 armed nomads on camel backs and horses attacked Marafatah village in North Darfur. The attack came after villagers killed 7 camels belonging to the Nomads that were released into their farms and destroyed crops during harvest time. 5 people sustained injuries from the attack and a 12-year-old girl was raped. . The injured people have been transferred to Tawilla Hospital. Their names are:
- Mubarak Adam Ishaq (m), 27
- Adam Abakar Atiem (m), 75
- Katoum Ibrahim Abdul Mulla (f), 80
- Umslama Yagoup Arabab (f), 35
- Ismail Ali Shattah (m) 51
IDPs kill 4 nomads and injure 3 others in Tawilla locality
On 6 December 2021, 4 Shatia Nomads were killed and others 3 injured between Zamzam IDP camp and Kolgi area in Tawilla locality, North Darfur. A reliable source informed ACJPS that the attack resulted from an ambush laid by IDPs of ZamZam camp.
The deceased are:
- Sukara Issa Halah (f)
- Meriam Ahmed Saeed (f)
- Elteyeb Issa Halah (m)
- Ismail Abdul Rahman Ahmed (m)
The injured People are:
- Sadia Abakar (f)
- Mohamed Ahmed Rabih (m)
- Abu Bakar Yahiya Ibrahim (m)
51 People killed and 11 others injured during an armed clash between the Masalit and the nomads in Kirinik locality, West Darfur
On 4 December 2021, at 04:00PM, there was an armed clash between the Masalit and the nomads in Kirinik locality, 74 Kilometers West to Elgenina in West Darfur. The clash started after a Masalit tribesman disagreed with 2 nomads in the market. One nomad pulled out his automatic gun to shoot the Masalit tribesman but he shot the nomad first. After the shooting, members from both sides joined the fight resulting into the killing of 8 people and injury of 11 others from both sides.
Killed people from Krinink
- Ahmed Mohamed Arbab (m), 30
- Abakar Mohamed Yousef (m) 60
- Ibrahim Abakar Yahiya (m), 30
Killed Nomads
- Ibrahim Gaaoud (m)
- Mohamed Ali Altoum (m)
- Hassan Omer Idris
- Issa Abdallah Nemir (m)
- Ahmed Dagas (m)
Injured people from Krinink
- Al-Nazir Abakar Abdul Hameed (m), 17
- Samaha Mubarak Ibrahim (f), 18
- Hussein Abdul Nabi Abu Riesh (m), 23
- Mohamed Ishaq Ahmed (m), 27
- Abdallah Idris Ibrahim (m), 35
- Ahmed Adam Abdallah (m), 36
- Mohamed Ali Hassan (m), 40
- Abakar Yahiya Abakar (m), 50
Three nomads were injured but their names are unknown.
In the evening of the same day, at 07:00 PM after the market incident, the nomads who were in Kirinik market attacked Abuja IDP camp located in Kirinik. Fortunately, no one was killed or injured after IDPS quickly evacuated the camp and headed to the nearest neighborhoods in Krinink town. On the same day at night, a group of RSF officers travelling in five Land cruiser vehicles arrived in Kirinik from Elgienina. Shortly afterwards, a group of SAF officers travelling in 13 land cruiser cars also arrived in Kirinik from their headquarter in Elgenina.
The morning of 5 December 2021, nomads from Maharina, Naja, and Awlad Zaid villages mobilized themselves from different areas of West Darfur, Beyda and Saraf Omra in North Darfur and Forbranga in Central Darfur arrived in Kirinik locality armed and riding on motorcycles, camel backs and horses. At about 6.45 am, they launched an attack from the West, North West and East of Kirinik town. The attack resulted to the killing of 43 civilians and injury of several others. There are no reports of the attackers killed or injured. ACJPS has been informed that SAF troops arrived at night and were stationed to guard the market. Some local people have accused RSF officers of shooting randomly and burning houses during the attack.
The deceased are:
- Noor Eldien Ahmed Adam (m)
- Mubarak Abdallah Hassan (m)
- Mustasim Gamar Adam (m)
- Ali Abakar Jumma (m0
- Mohamed Zakary Adam(m)
- Hamden Adam Yahiya (m)
- Fadul Taha Fadul (m)
- Mohamed Adam Abdallah (m)
- Abdallah Yousef Abdallah (m)
- Musa Younies Abakar (m)
- Omer Abakar Ishaq(m)
- Mohamed Yagoup Ramadan (m0
- Mohamed Tarjook Mohamed (m0
- Al-ashid Jumma Idris(m)
- Abdul Muhseen Yagoup Yahiya(m
- Katoum Isa (f)
- Hub Eldien Abdallah Mohamed
- Kamal Mohamed Hussein
- Daffalah Yahiya Hammed
- Mujaheed Mohamed Arbab
- Bukhari Hussein Abdallah
- Al-Fadil Wadi Jumma
- Elnoor Ahmed Hassan
- Abdul Raziq Noor Eldien
- Abdul Rahman Elnoor Suleiman
- Mohamed Bakar Osman
- Mohamed Jumma Khater
- Noor Eldien Abdallah Harba
- Sharif Abdallah Mohamed
- Abakar Ismail Abdallah
- Hassan Ramadan Ibrahim
- Mohamed Abakar Arabab
- Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman Abdul Hameed
- Adam Abakar Ibrahim
- Abdul Hameed Elnoor Idris
- Fatima Hassan Ishaq(f)
- Nasir Yaougb Burma
- Mohamed Ahmed Abdallah
- Ahmed Mohamed Arbab
- Yahiya Bakar Mohamed
- Ibrahim Abakar Yahiya
- Abdallah Hassan Abdul Mula
- Mataria Ahmed Suleiman (f)
The Masalit, Arabs, Dajo and Bargo tribes inhabit Kirinik locality and they speak the Malsalit language as the common language. The first military headquarter in West Darfur was established in Kirinik before it was moved to Elgenina, capital of West Darfur. Most tribes in West Darfur armed themselves after January 2021 attack on Kirinding camp.
28 Juba Peace Agreement troops killed in an ambush
On 5 December 2021, at about 12 pm, 28 troops of the Sudanese Alliance (signatory to Juba Peace Agreement 2020) were killed in an ambush reportedly laid by RSF officers in Rosie area while on their way to Kirinik from Elgenina. Three others appeared the following day in neighborhoods near the location of the incident. While the exact number of the officers attacked is not known, at least 3-4 others are considered missing. ACJPS has been reliably informed that the group moved without their Commander’s permission. They were moving to Kirinik, their place of origin to join the fight against nomads who were attacking their people. Their Commander, Khamis Abakar had asked them to wait and join the joint troops of RSF and SAF who were to be deployed in Kirinik to stop the clashes between villagers and armed nomads.
This is second time the troops of the Juba Peace Agreement 2020 are being ambushed. The first incident happened South of Elfashir in North Darfur on 9 August 2021 when clashes started between the Zaghawa and Arab Nomads of Shattia over land conflicts in Kolgi village in Tawilla locality.
Arab nomads force community leaders to pledge payment of 25 million Sudanese Pocunds
On 3 December 2021, armed Arab nomads surrounded Monerny town in West Darfur and forced community leaders to make a pledge of 25 Million Sudanese Pounds as payment for diya and burial expenses. The Arab nomad accused the IDPs of killing a 13 year old Arab male whose body was found outside the camp in the southwest direction. 5 million was paid instantly whilst the remaining amount was to be paid later. Out of the 25 million, 15 million is considered as blood money whilst 10 million is for burial expenses also called Kramatte in Darfurian culture.
3 IDPs killed by armed nomads in Meshing locality, South Darfur State
On 4 December 2021, at 8 am, a group of armed nomads travelling in about 5 Toyota cars shot to death three IDPs on the main road between Manwashi and Amar Jaded in Meshing locality in South Darfur State.state. The incident happened after the victims took several camels they found on their farms in both Amar Jaded and Abu Hamra villages to the animal space in Manawashi attached to Manawashi Police Station. The owners of the camels, one of them identified as Hamdan Jama went to the animal space and released the animals by force and went to look for the people who took them there and killed them. The dead bodies were taken to Nyala Hospital in South Darfur before they were buried.
The deceased are:
- Adam Abdul Maulaa (m)
- Abdallah Abdul Rahman Shanglai (m)
- Elshafi Mohamed Adam (m)
Background
Raids by nomads against villages in the rural areas of Darfur are not new. Settled communities have complained for years about being attacked by nomadic groups. While most attacks have been triggered by revenge motives or competition for grazing areas, the level of killings and destruction have been extremely alarming.
These attacks significantly increased since the exit of United Nations-African Union hybrid peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) on 31 December 2020. The departure of the long-running UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur has created a security vacuum as hundreds of thousands flee fresh outbreaks of violence. The new UN political mission, UNITAMS, tasked to support the transitional government, has no mandate to provide physical protection. In 2021 alone, ACJPS has documented 5 arbitrary attacks against civilians in Darfur region.
The Government of Sudan, which took on the responsibility of providing security in region, has since failed to protect citizens from these arbitrary attacks by the militia. The only effort by Sudanese government has been the deployment of about 12,000 joint troops (6000 from the Sudanese revolutionary front) in fulfillment of the Juba Peace agreement. These attacks and ongoing insecurity in the region exemplify the loss of control by the government of Sudan of armed militias and the lack of rule of law.
For further information, contact Mossaad Mohamed Ali at: mossaad.ali@acjps.org
