Kutum / Delling / Abu Janouk — Armed Gunmen killed at least nine people, and wounded and kidnapped at least nine others, in an apparant revenage attack spanning seven villages in Kutum locality, North Darfur, on Monday. Two other people were killed in West Kordofan and South Kordofan in seprate attacks on Sunday.
People told Radio Dabanga that Monday's deadly attack was a retaliation for two other killings committed by unknown suspects earlier on Monday in Senana village. In response, relatives of the two people killed boarded a number of vehicles, motorcycles and horses, and headed for a number of villages 30 kilometres north of Kutum town, they said.
After reaching the village of Malaagat, the gunmen began shooting people inside its main marketplace killing at least nine. The attackers then entered and torched six other nearby villages, kidnapping a further nine people. These villages included Senana and Kornaga, which were entirely burnt down during the attack, and also Um Kateera and Hillet El Faki, which were partially burnt down.
So far, seven of the nine people killed during the attack have been named. These include Osman Abakar, Khadija Hammad, Ahmed Ishag Babiker, Amin Suleiman, Hafar Yagoub and Ibrahim Abboud. Dozens of people have fled the area and three of the injured are being treated at Kutum hospital.
Presence of Rapid Support Forces
People who witnessed the incident said Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were present during the attack and did not intervene or attempt to keep the gunmen away. Other witnesses said RSF's vehicles were used by the attackers.
According to a tweet yesterday, all telephone and internet connections of the three providers in Sudan, Zain, Sudani, and MTN, were cut off in Kutum town and the surrounding areas. It is not clear whether these connections have been restored.
In another tweet, the El Fasher Resistance Committees denounced the attack by the armed robbers on villages and called for urgent humanitarian aid. In Regard to the attack the group said, "The free Sudanese people have been continually beset by criminal acts practiced by the treacherous janjaweed since 2003."
Earlier in August, two policemen were killed in Jebel Marra, South Darfur, by alleged followers of former janjaweed leader Musa Hilal.
One person killed after livestock feud in South Kordofan
At least one person was killed, and others injured, in an armed clash in Habila locality, South Kordofan, following a despute over stolen livestock on Sunday.
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Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that the clash began after livestock was siezed by local authorities on a road south of the city of Delling. The seizure was part of a personal feud authorities had with the original livestock owner, the witnesses said. It remains unclear who was killed in clash.
Gunmen kill one person in West Kordofan
A man was shot dead by a group of unknown gunmen in the Abu Janouk, West Kordofan, on Sunday, further stoking tensions across the local area.
Human rights lawyer, Abdelgader Durban, told Radio Dabanga that Sunday's killing of Halouf Ahmed is just one of series of deadly killings that began two years ago when "infiltrators" from the south started regularly attacking the area. Durban said people living in Abu Janouk have become increasingly isolated from the rest of the state as the armed gunmen continue to block nearby roads.
Durban said there have been a number of complaints submitted to the state authorities, but all have so far been ignored. He also appealed to the authorities to intervene urgently to solve the problem.
