Gereida — Three displaced persons were seriously injured in Gereida locality, South Darfur, after being shot by government militiamen in revenge of a dispute the day before, a witness told Radio Dabanga.

The three victims were shot by the gunmen on Friday at the Jija area, where they originally come from and were living at during the farming season. Jija is located in the Joukhana administrative unit, in Gereida locality.

Sources said Jija's sultan, Abdul Rahman Bakheet, had instructed the displaced not to return to the camp after the farming season and asserted he would keep them safe. The displaced eventually agreed to stay.

However, on Thursday night a pro-government militia looted the shop of a Jija inhabitant called Ezedine Darobo. The morning after, various residents followed the footprints of the alleged perpetrators what led them to a militia-controlled area, sources recounted.

The militia admitted looting the shop and agreed to return to Jija within two days to settle the issue.

Instead, sources continued, the militiamen returned to the village just hours later and immediately opened heavy fire on the village, critically injuring three residents.

Zakaria Abdullah, Mohamed Ali, known as Clash, and Abdullah Hassan, who suffered head injuries, were transferred to a medical center in Joukhana for treatment.

Following the incident Jija became virtually empty, as its residents flew to camps near Gereida. The sultan, on his turn, "forced" the displaced to return to Jija assuring once more he would provide them security, according to sources.