Kordofan, August 20 (Darfur24)
A Rapid Support Forces (RSF) unit in Wad Banda locality, West Kordofan State, arrested an imam and several young men over a community initiative to provide free meals to people in need, while a teacher was killed and another civilian injured in an armed robbery on a road in South Kordofan, according to local sources.
Sources told Darfur24 that Sheikh Ismail Abu Seil Saeed, imam of the Old Mosque in Wad Banda, launched an initiative last week calling on residents to contribute food and funds to prepare free breakfast meals at the mosque. Several residents had responded to the initiative and begun making contributions.
The sources said the RSF force in Wad Banda halted the initiative and arrested the imam and several participants, accusing them of launching the activity without prior authorization. The force also demanded that RSF commanders be provided with the names of those who had contributed to the initiative.
The arrests come amid worsening economic and humanitarian conditions in Wad Banda, where rising prices of basic commodities have reduced families’ ability to meet their daily food needs.
Local sources said soaring prices of millet and sorghum, staple foods in the area, had forced some families to consume oil-press residues, locally known as “ambaz,” to cope with food shortages.
Meanwhile, in Al-Rahad, South Kordofan State, a teacher was killed and a civilian injured on Wednesday when gunmen attacked a commercial convoy travelling between Abu Kershola and Al-Rahad.
Sources in Al-Rahad told Darfur24 that the gunmen intercepted the vehicle near the Musa Awjan agricultural project. The attack killed teacher Mahasin Yaqoub, who was travelling from Abu Kershola, as well as a member of the force escorting the commercial vehicles.
A resident of Al-Rahad was also injured, while passengers were robbed of their belongings, the sources said.
Kordofan has witnessed deteriorating humanitarian and security conditions amid the continuation of the war, which has disrupted trade, restricted access to supplies and humanitarian assistance, and weakened local authorities’ ability to secure roads.
The worsening conditions have increased residents’ reliance on community-led initiatives to provide food and basic services, while armed robberies and road blockades have become increasingly common in parts of South Kordofan and the wider Kordofan region.