Zalingi, November 15 (Darfur24)
A military source told Darfur24 that angry mobs stormed the police station in Umbro city, North Darfur, on Wednesday, looting its weapons stores and detaining the station chief in protest against what they described as the police’s failure to address the rising insecurity in the area.
According to the source, Umbro—located around 250 kilometers northwest of El Fasher—witnessed widespread unrest as mobilized residents and local administration leaders overran the police station, seized all weapons, confiscated the station’s only vehicle, and placed the police chief, a lieutenant, under house arrest.
In a related development, a military source in the Sudanese army said that the nearby city of Al-Tina experienced a security collapse at the beginning of November, leading to the closure of the police station there and the integration of its personnel into a joint force of the army and armed movements, which were later deployed to advanced positions outside the town.
The source added that Al-Tina has recently seen night raids and looting by mobilized groups in retaliation for a drone strike on November 1 that targeted a “Sudanese Alliance” training center south of the main market, killing more than 30 people and injuring over 40 others.
He noted that large numbers of residents, including the locality’s executive director, crossed the border into the Chadian city of Tine amid rising tensions, while military formations have agreed to reposition fighters to advanced posts in the Jerjeira area following reports of an imminent Rapid Support Forces attack.
Meanwhile, residents of Kornoi told Darfur24 that the town’s police station has also been closed, with officers no longer receiving reports or making arrests. Police personnel have instead been reassigned to guard headquarters under the supervision of two lieutenants and more than 20 soldiers, following heightened anger toward the police across the region.