End To Killing Of Children, UN Committee Urges

THERE are 468 million children worldwide living in armed conflict zones, according to Save the Children’s research, accounting for about 20% of the world’s 2.4 billion children population, based on UNICEF’s statistics. One out of every five children worldwide are living within armed conflict zones.

Read more from Scoop Media

Press Release: UN Treaty Bodies
Dated Tuesday, 21 November 2023, 1:30 am - here is a copy in full:

End To Killing Of Children In Armed Conflict, UN Committee Urges

World’s Children Day
20 November 2023

GENEVA (20 November 2023) – With one out of every five children worldwide living within armed conflict zones, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child marks World Children’s Day in a sombre mood and calls for ceasefires and a return to basics of humanitarian law to safeguard all children. The Committee today issued the following statement:

“World Children’s Day has generally been regarded as a day to celebrate the gains made since the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. Thirty-four years later today, it, however, has become a day for mourning for the many children who have recently died in armed conflict. 

More than 4,600 children have been killed in Gaza in only five weeks. This war has claimed the lives of more children in a shorter time and with a level of brutality that we have not witnessed in recent decades.

The Committee has previously urged for a ceasefire. Unfortunately, the UN Security Council has not put its weight behind that call. While the 15 November 2023 resolution of the Security Council calling for humanitarian pauses and corridors is a positive step by the international community, it does not end the war that is waging on children – it simply makes it possible for children to be saved from being killed on some days, but not on other days.

There are 468 million children worldwide living in armed conflict zones, according to Save the Children’s research, accounting for about 20% of the world’s 2.4 billion children population, based on UNICEF’s statistics.

On World Children's Day, the Committee also wants to underscore that while the armed conflict in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is at the forefront of our minds, we remain acutely concerned that thousands of children are dying in armed conflict in many parts of the world, including in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, Myanmar, Haiti, Sudan, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia. Verified figures show that in 2022, the global figure of children killed or maimed was 8,630. Of deep concern is the fact that up to 4,000 children were denied humanitarian access last year. 

Given the current situation in Gaza, the number of child victims of these grave human rights violations is rising exponentially.

The plight of girls affected by armed conflict is also at a crisis point. In Sudan and Haiti, there are verified reports of abduction and rape of girls, and concerns have been raised by the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children about the deterioration in access to humanitarian services is driving girls towards being recruited by armed groups.

Children of so-called ‘foreign fighters’ are a further area of concern. The Committee has recommended in three complaints under its communications procedure that children in the camps in Northeast Syria should be repatriated. 

While some States have acted to return children and their mothers, an estimated 31,000 children are still living in abysmal conditions in the camps. The Committee also remains very concerned about boys who are being separated from their mothers when they reach early adolescence, as well as several hundred boys who are in prison.

The Committee recognises World Children’s Day in a sombre mood. In the face of wars affecting children around the globe, we call again for ceasefires, for a return to the basics of humanitarian law, and for thorough investigations by competent authorities of all grave violations against children in the context of armed conflict.”

View original: https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO2311/S00140/end-to-killing-of-children-in-armed-conflict-un-committee-urges.htm

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Pope focuses on Darfur-born St. Josephine Bakhita, patron saint of Sudan and human trafficking survivors

Report from Catholic News Agency - catholicnewsagency.com
By Matthew Santucci
Vatican City

Dated Wednesday, 11 October 2023, 09:30 am - here is a copy in full:

Pope Francis highlights St. Josephine Bakhita’s example of forgiveness

Josephine Bakhita. | A.Currell via Flickr (CC BY NC 2.0)

Speaking in his first general audience since the start of the Synod on Synodality last week, Pope Francis on Wednesday resumed his ongoing catechesis on the theme of apostolic zeal, this time focusing on the story of the Sudanese-Italian saint Josephine Bakhita, which he described as “an existential parable of forgiveness.”

Born in 1869 in the region of Darfur, Josephine was sold into slavery as a young girl. She was traded between different owners and endured incredible hardship, being forcibly converted to Islam and was subjected to scarification, a process by which the skin is intentionally cut, or branded, to make a set pattern. Incidentally, her captors gave her the name Bakhita, which from the Arabic translates to “fortunata,” or fortunate. 

In 1883 she was sold to Italian Vice Consul Callisto Legnani. In 1884, following the political instability that had engulfed Khartoum, they fled Sudan to Italy. She was subsequently passed to Augusto Michieli, a friend of Legnami. She first encountered Catholicism when she was entrusted to the care of Canossian Sisters in Venice. 

While Micheli tried to force her back to Sudan with him, she refused. Her case went before the Italian court, which ultimately ruled that her slavery was null, given that Britain had outlawed slavery before she was sold and it was never legal in Italy. On Jan. 9, 1890, as a free woman, she converted to Catholicism, and nine years later, in 1896, made her final vows with the Canossian Sisters. Bakhita was canonized on Oct. 1, 2000, by Pope John Paul II and is the patron saint of Sudan and human trafficking survivors.  

It was the sisters’ example of kindness and charity that so profoundly touched Bakhita, ultimately leading to her conversion, and was the catalyst for her religious vocation but also instilled in her the evangelical imperative of forgiveness. 

She famously said: “If I were to meet those who kidnapped me, and even those who tortured me, I would kneel and kiss their hands. For, if these things had not happened, I would not have been a Christian and a religious today.” 

Her life, which was characterized by hardship but also hope and mercy, was the backdrop for Pope Francis’ appeal for forgiveness, which he said stems from God’s love. He quoted an excerpt from Luke’s Gospel (Lk 23:34): “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”

Pope Francis pauses during his general audience on Oct. 11, 2023, in St. Peter's Square. Credit: Vatican Media

“What is the secret of St. Bakhita?” the pope asked, adding: “The vocation of the oppressed is that of freeing themselves and their oppressors, becoming restorers of humanity. Only in the weakness of the oppressed can the force of God’s love, which frees both, be revealed.” 

The pope went on to say that “to pity means both to suffer with the victims of the great inhumanity in the world and also to pity those who commit errors and injustices, not justifying, but humanizing.” 

“When we enter the logic of struggle, of division between us, of bad feelings, one against the other, we lose humanity. And many times we think that we need humanity, to be more human. And this is the work that St. Bakhita teaches us: to humanize, to humanize ourselves and to humanize others,” the Holy Father said, departing from his prepared remarks.

Throughout his address the pope emphasized that forgiveness is an essential component of Christian life. It is what enabled St. Josephine Bakhita to become “a free, joyful woman, capable of loving.”

In this way she stands as a model of not only living God’s love authentically, the pope said, but also “helps us to unmask our hypocrisies and selfishness, to overcome resentments and conflicts. She encourages us to reconcile with ourselves and find peace in our families and communities. She offers us a light of hope in these difficult times of mistrust and distrust of others.” 

Full story: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255647/pope-francis-st-josephine-bakhita-forgiveness

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Alert to HRW & ICRC Sudan: Thousands missing since April 15. Names of 91 missing persons in Khartoum

THANKS to Radio Dabanga for its report (30 June 2023 - ACJPS calls for accountability regarding war crimes in Sudan) linking to the article now reprinted here below. This post (hosted by Google) will be picked up by search engines and made freely available on the internet for many years to come. Many people, mostly males, disappear in Sudan possibly arrested or enslaved by fighters. Note that using children as child soldiers is a war crime.

Here is an article published at Africa Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) website on Thursday 29 June 2023 - full copy:

Photo Credit: Al jazeera

URGENT CALL TO SUDANESE AUTHORITIES, RSF AND SAF TO ACCOUNT FOR THOUSANDS OF CITIZENS WHO HAVE GONE MISSING SINCE THE ARMED CONFLICT ERUPTED 

(29 June 2023) - Africa Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) expresses deep concern about the increasing number of missing persons across Sudan since the armed conflict erupted on 15 April 2023. 

We call upon the Sudanese authorities, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to account for all the missing persons, specifically those who are known to have been forcefully disappeared or are being held incommunicado by SAF and RSF.

Sudanese authorities must uphold their international obligations under relevant regional and international treaties which Sudan ratified by immediately carrying out independent, transparent and effective investigations with a view to determining the fate and whereabouts of all missing persons since 15 April 2023. 

Where victims are in the custody of the state (SAF), they should be either unconditionally released, or charged before the courts of law.

We also call upon the RSF to release all victims in their custody. For those who have died, graves must be shown to families/relatives and bodies released for proper burial. Perpetrators must be held to account through fair trials. We further call upon the warring parties to desist from arbitrarily arresting, detaining and torturing civilians.

Since the armed conflict broke out on 15 April 2023, ACJPS has documented 91 missing persons most of whom have been arrested by either by SAF or RSF. A few people have since been released. 

For example, Mr. Mohamed Alhadi, a medical doctor who was arrested at a check point near Jackson Station in Khartoum by SAF soldiers. Mr. Mohamed was stopped and the soldiers asked for his Identity Card which he presented. The soldiers then started questioning him about his origin and accused him of being affiliated to RSF. He was then arrested and taken to a detention centre where he found 17 other detainees in a small cell measuring 4 by 4 metres. The detainees were all arrested for similar reasons and they were subjected to torture. They had their hands tied and were beaten up by the soldiers and verbally abused.

On 29 April 2023, Mr. Husham S Mohamed was arrested by RSF at a check point in Jabel Awlia. Mr. Mohamed was on his way to Port Sudan when a bus he was travelling in was stopped and he was asked to get out. He was questioned about the whereabouts of Gen. Al-Burhan to ascertain whether he is a SAF member to which he answered in the negative. He was then searched and assaulted before he was allowed to return to the bus. Mr. Mohamed arrived at his home in Alkalaka safely but it was later destroyed by an air bomb.

 

In the recent years, there has been increased use of “short-term” disappearances where victims are detained incommunicado for a period of time and, eventually freed. The same tactic was used during the 2018-2019 Sudan revolution and after the 25th of October 2021 coup. 

Unfortunately, enforced disappearances in Sudan are often coupled with other gross human rights violations, such as the practice of arbitrary arrests and/or detention, torture, rape and in some cases death, particularly by national security officers, RSF and armed militias. This is facilitated by the fact that victims are often detained incommunicado, in “inaccessible” detention centres and in unknown locations, thus placing them outside of protection of the law with no access to legal remedies.

Sudan must domesticate the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances  as a fundamental step towards the prevention, and the ultimate elimination, of the inadmissible practice of enforced disappearances. Laws that grant immunity to perpetrators must be amended, detention centres outside the normal custodial system, where victims are frequently held incommunicado must be closed. We urge regional and International human rights bodies to collectively and strongly demand that Sudan must end all enforced disappearances and ensure that perpetrators are held accountable. An independent international fact-finding mission, must be dispatched to establish the facts and circumstances of the alleged recent crime of enforced disappearance committed in the Sudan.

ACJPS has obtained names of 91 missing persons since 15 April 2023 in Khartoum.

• Abdeen Salah Youssef (m) from Alazhari neighborhood in Khartoum. Went missing on 18th April, 2023
• Abdul Gadir Bala (m) from Industrial Area neighborhood in Khartoum Bahari. Went missing on 15th April, 2023
• Abdul Gadir Mohamed Abdul Gadir (m) from an area around SAF headquarters in Central Khartoum. Went missing on 15th April, 2023.
• Abdul Rahim Bakhit Abdul Rahim (m) from East Nile neighborhood in Khartoum Bahari. Went missing on 26th April, 2023
• Abdul Rahim Bakhit (m) from Omdurman. Went missing on 27th April, 2023.
• Abdulla Osman Abdullah (m) from Alduom East neighborhood in Khartoum. Went missing on 15th April, 2023
• Abdullah Ismail (m) from Alryad Alhuria neighborhood in Khartoum. Went missing on 29th April, 2023
• Abu Bakar Mohamed Osman (m) from Alnuzha neighborhood in Khartoum. Went missing on 21st April, 2023
• Adam Bakhit Mohamed Fad Allah from Alshiglah neighborhood in Omdurman. Went missing on 15th April, 2023
• Adam Jamal Eldien (m) from Jabrah neighborhood in Khartoum. Went missing on 28th April, 2023
• Adil Alagib Farah (m). Went missing on 15th April, 2023 from Khartoum International Airport
• Adil Salah Sharaf Eldien Suleiman (m) from Almanshia neighborhood in Khartoum. Went Missing on 21st April, 2023
• Ahmed Zachariah Aldood (m). Went missing on 15th April, 2023 from Khartoum International Airport.
• Ali Mohamed Ali Tarar (m) from Khartoum. Went missing on 29th April, 2023
• Ali Omer Tuto Kafi (m) from Khartoum. Went missing on 20th April, 2023
• Aljazuli Osman Fageer (m) from Al-haj Youssef neighborhood in Khartoum Bahari. Went missing on 29th April, 2023
• Almahadi Ahmed Almahadi (m) went missing on 28th April, 2023 from Central Khartoum Market
• Almudathier Suliman Adam (m) from Althura, Square 7 in Omdurman. Went missing on 18th April, 2023
• Alnoor AL Bashir Alskekh (m) from Karari neighborhood in Omdurman. Went missing on 16th April, 2023
• Alwathiq Abu Damir Mohamed (m) from East Nile neighborhood in Khartoum Bahari. Went missing on 23rd April, 2023
• Amaal Abadi Aldaw (f) from Althura neighborhood in Omdurman. Went missing on 20th April, 2023
• Awad Mohamed kHalifa (m) from Air Port Street in Khartoum. Went missing on 15th April, 2023
• Ayoum James Manyol Arul (m) from Algadsia neighborhood in Khartoum. Went missing on 19th April, 2023
• Azil Awad Aljazuli (m) from Alamarat neighborhood in Khartoum. Went missing on 20th April, 2023
• Badur Eldien Abdullah (m) from East Nile neighborhood in Khartoum Bahari. Went missing on 23rd April, 2023
• Bashir Ismail Ahmed Elyas (m) from Almualim neighborhood in Khartoum. Went missing on 15th April, 2023
• Dahab Ali abdul Aziz (m) from Aabic Market in Khartoum. Went missing on 16th April, 2023
• Doud Musa Mohamed Ibrahim (m) from Khartoum. Went missing on 15th April, 2023
• Elteyeb Mutwakil (m) from Khartoum Bahari. Went missing on 20th April, 2023
• Esam Eldien Adam Isa (m) from Omdurman. Went missing on 28th April, 2023.
• Faris Abdul Hameed bahar (m) from Aljrafa neighborhood in Omdurman. Went missing on 15th April, 2023
• Farooq Zahir (m) from 60th Street in Arkaweet neighborhood, Khartoum. Went missing on 15th April, 2023
• Hamam Abdullah Al-Mubarak (m) from Kafori neighborhood in Khartoum. Went missing on 15th April, 2023
• Hashiem Mohamed Alaskan (m) from Khartoum. Went missing on 15th April, 2023 and was last seen near SAF club in Khartoum
• Hassan Mohamed Adam (m) from Alsahafa neighborhood in Khartoum. Went missing on 15th April, 2023
• Ibrahim Abdul Kareem Ahmed (m) from Burri neighborhood in Khartoum. Went missing on 16th April, 2023
• Ibrahim babakir Ibrahim (m) from Khartoum. Went missing on 15th April, 2023
• Ibrahim Babkir (m) from Khartoum ii neighborhood in Khartoum. Went missing on 20th April, 2023
• Ibrahim Fakhar Eldien awad salih (m) from Alryaad neighborhood in Khartoum. Went missing on 30th April, 2023
• Ibrahim Humida Agabeen (m) from Alfetihab neighborhood in Omdurman. Went missing on 24th April, 2023
• Ismail Abbas (m). He went missing on 15th April, 2023
• Ismail Abdul gadir Aljali (m). He went missing on 24th April, 2023
• Jafar Sulfab Mohamed Sulfab (m) from Aldroshab neighborhood in Khartoum Bahari. Went missing on 20th April, 2023
• Khalid Muzaz Saad Ibarhim (m) from Alamarta neighborhood in Khartoum. Went missing on 20th April, 2023
• Mahmoud Munstaris (m). He went missing on 21st April, 2023
• Mamdoh Jamal Mohamed Ahmed (m) from Burri neighborhood in Khartoum Bahari. Went missing on 16th April, 2023
• Maysoon Mahjoob Mohamed (f) from Hai Adobate neighborhood in Omdurman. She has been missing since 4th April, 2023
• Mazin Ahmed Hassan (m) from Alhalfaia neighborhood in Khartoum Bahari. Has been missing since 15th April, 2023
• Mazin Taha (m) from Jabara neighborhood in Khartoum. He went missing on 15th April, 2023
• Mohamed Abu Bakar Hamada (m) from Arkaweet neighborhood in Khartoum. He went missing on 19th April, 2023
• Mohamed Adam Ibrahim Alhaje (m) from Alamir (Umbada) neighborhood in Omdurman. He went missing on 26th April, 2023
• Mohamed Ahmed (m). Went missing on 20th April 2023 from Khartoum Arabic Market
• Mohamed Alhadi Isa Obid (m) from Eldom East neighborhood in Khartoum. Went missing on 20th April, 2023
• Mohamed Alhaj Mohamed (m) from Jabrah neighborhood in Khartoum. He has been missing since 16th April, 2023
• Mohamed Alhashimi Atif (m) from Shambat neighborhood in Khartoum Bahari. He went missing on 16th April, 2023
• Mohamed Bashir Mukhtar (m) from Alengaz neighborhood in Khartoum. Went missing on 25th April, 2023
• Mohamed Bashir Mukhtar Abakar (m) from Alengaz neighborhood in Khartoum. Went missing on 25th April, 2023
• Mohamed Elyas Hameed (m) from Alkalakla neighborhood in South Khartoum. Went missing on 15th April, 2023
• Mohamed Fadlaah Alamin (m) was last seen 15th April, 2023 from SAF headquarters square in Khartoum
• Mohamed Fadul Allah Alamin (m) was last seen on 14th April, 2023 near SAF headquarters in Khartoum
• Mohamed Haneef Allah (m) from Alhuria neighborhood in Khartoum. He has been missing since 19th April, 2023
• Mohamed Hasan hashem (m). Went missing on 15th April, 2023 at Sudanese Army Forces Club neighborhood in Khartoum
• Mohamed Hassan Mohamed Alneam (m) was last seen on 15th April, 2023 at Khartoum International Airport
• Mohamed Hassan Mohamed Nameem (m) has been missing since 15th April, 2023 and was last seen at Khartoum International Airport
• Mohanad Mahamoud Zain (m) from Alfetihab neighborhood in Omdurman. Has been missing since 24th April, 2023
• Muhi Eldien Bashir Abdul Bagi (m) from Haj Yosef Almagoma neighborhood in Khartoum Bahari. Has been missing since 22nd April, 2023
• Mujaheed Shaish Eldien (m) from central Khartoum. Went missing on 15th April, 2023
• Muneer Maki Segen Harwat (m) from Khartoum. Has been missing since 16th April, 2023
• Murad Endook Wisk (m) from Aljereef neighborhood in Khartoum. Has been missing since 16th April, 2023
• Murtada Abbas Eltelib (m) from East Nile neighborhood in Khartoum Bahari. Went missing on 16th April, 2023
• Musab Abdullah Elteyeb (m) from Jeyad neighborhood in Khartoum. Went missing on 15th April, 2023
• Mustafa Gisim (m) from Alsahafa neighborhood in Khartoum. Went missing on 17th April, 2023
• Mustafa Mohamed Alhassan (m) from Khartoum Sport town. He went missing on 15th April, 2023
• Muzamil Abdula Rahman Baba Allah (m) from Kafwrie neighborhood in Khartoum. Has been missing since 24th April, 2023
• Najm Eldeen Mohamed (m) from Alryad Alhuria neighborhood in Khartoum. He has been missing since 29th April, 2023
• Omer Abdul Raheed Hussen (m) went missing on 18th April, 2023 from Doctors Guest House in Khartoum
• Omer Abu Bakar Alsmani (m) from East Nile neighborhood in Khartoum Bahari. Has been missing since 15th April, 2023
• Omer Abu Bakar Alsmani (m) from East Nile neighborhood in Khartoum Bahari. Went missing on 15th April, 2023
• Omer Alsafi Omer Nimir (m) from Alklakla neighborhood in Khartoum. Has been missing since 30th April, 2023
• Omer Youssef Ahmed Garad (m) from Omdurman. He has been missing since 29th April, 2023
• Qurashi Ahmed Quarshi (m) from Abu Hamah neighborhood in Khartoum. Has been missing since 17th April, 2023
• Rwaa (f) from Helat Hamad neighborhood in Khartoum Bahari. Went missing on 18th April, 2023
• Saas Abdul Salam Mahmoud (m) from Khartoum ii neighborhood in Khartoum. He has been missing since 18th April, 2023
• Saif Eldien Idris Eldoma (m) from Khartoum Bahari. Has been missing since 19th April, 2023
• Sidiq Ismail Mohamed (m) from Omdurman. He has been missing since 23rd April, 2023
• Tariq Mohamed Allusion(m) from Althura neighborhood in Omdurman. Has been missing since 16th April 2023 around 04:00pm
• Wale Eldien Mohamed Ahmed (m) from Khartoum Bahari. Went missing on 18th April, 2023
• Wali Eduen Adam Hameed (m) from Khartoum Bahari. Has been missing since 17th April, 2023
• Yair Abdullah Ibarahim (m) from Al-Haj Youssef neighborhood in Khartoum Bahari. Has been missing since 28th April, 2023
• Yasir Mohamed Abdullah Bakar (m) from Alhuria neighborhood in Khartoum. Has been missing since 19th April, 2023
• Yassin Awad Hama Shuaib (m) Has been missing since 15th April, 2023 and was last seen at Arabic Market in Khartoum.

View original: http://www.acjps.org/urgent-call-to-sudanese-authorities-rsf-and-saf-to-account-for-thousands-of-citizens-who-have-gone-missing-since-the-armed-conflict-erupted/

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RSF child soldiers with AK-47s roam Khartoum Sudan

Report from Sky News UK

Tuesday 25 April 2023 13:57 BST - excerpt:

'A 14-year-old with an AK-47 is a very dangerous individual'

Defence and security analyst Professor Michael Clarke has said there are reports of child soldiers on the streets as part of the Rapid Support Force rebels, providing an insight into just how dangerous the situation on the ground in Sudan is for civilians.

"A 13 or 14-year-old with an AK47 who thinks he's a big shot is a very dangerous individual. 

"So just getting a family to the airfield, or anywhere, in this situation is very dangerous," he said.

View original, with thanks to Sky: here.

New fighting and looting in North Darfur: 11 killed, 1 police; 57 injured. SAF demotes RSF to a rebel group.

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: In the past few days Sudan's Army chief Gen. Burhan demoted Hemeti's RSF to a rebel group. Some males in the RSF are very young. They can become lost, neglected, drugged and frightened. 

Many rebels have to steal food, water, meds, drugs, cash, phones, clothes, petrol, vehicles and attack aid convoys for supplies. Being a rebel is a way to become gainfully employed, part of a gang with camaraderie and a purpose.

Most of them become street wise, creative and resourceful, clever and able to think fast on their feet. I am not up to date with the law on recruitment of child soldiers but I hope it is now unlawful and classed as human trafficking. 

Report from Radio Dabanga in Netherlands - www.dabangasudan.org

By Radio Dabanga

Published Friday 21 April 2023

New reports about fighting and looting in Darfur

PHOTO: RSF soldiers deployed in a neighbourhood of Khartoum (Photo supplied)

EL FASHER / NYALA / ED DAEIN – Eleven people were killed in battles between Sudanese army soldiers and paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in El Fasher, on Wednesday [19 Apr].

Among the 11 people killed was one policeman, the North Darfur Radio Dabanga correspondent reported from El Fasher. 57 others were injured.

“The Southern Hospital is overcrowded,” she said. “Luckily, youth initiatives have led to the opening of five health centres that provide free diagnosis and treatment.”

Yesterday morning, the North Darfur capital witnessed relative calm with sporadic clashes, he said. “But the plundering continues.”

The Specialised Children’s Hospital was looted, and two ambulances were stolen on Wednesday, she said. Many houses have been plundered as well.

Youngsters are barricading the streets in the neighbourhoods to prevent more plundering.

“At the markets She further noted a significant decrease in the prices of clothes, shoes and other commodities, as thieves offered stolen goods for sale as well.”

‘Cautious calm’

Nyala, capital of South Darfur, witnessed a cautious calm on Thursday after clashes earlier this week that left at least 31 people dead. People left their homes to buy food and other needs from the shops. Many markets are still closed.

“However, intermittent exchanges of fire with heavy weapons continued in the northern part of the city on Thursday,” a correspondent in Nyala said.

He also reported widespread plundering. “People in various neighbourhoods resorted to barricading the streets to prevent looting.”

A listener told Radio Dabanga from Nyala that the plundering is done by armed men riding on motorcycles and in rickshaws. “Youths have formed groups that are patrolling the neighbourhoods.”

He said that the army forces are stationed at the base of the 16th Infantry Division, not far from the airport. The RSF soldiers are deployed in the El Matar, El Riyadh and El Malja neighbourhoods close to the army command.

Ed Daein, capital of East Darfur, has hardly been affected by the ongoing battles, residents told Radio Dabanga.

Activist Emameldin Maw said that the situation is calm except for two incidents on Sunday, the second day of the war, which led to the death of four army soldiers. He attributed the calm to the ability of native administration leaders to control the forces “by virtue of the social composition of the two parties”.

Continue Reading

Fighting continues in Sudan capital, UN warns for collapse of health system

Sudan: RSF attack police stations in El Obeid, 20 policemen killed

View original: https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/new-reports-about-fighting-and-looting-in-darfur

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