Elfashir, Feb 28(Darfur24)Owners of commercial trucks, passenger buses, and merchants in the city of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, complained about the large number of “focuses” and gates established by the Sudanese army, armed movements, and rapid support inside the city to collect taxes.
The owner of the truck, Suleiman Abdullah Muhammad, confirmed to “Darfur 24” that there are more than 25 gates between the city of El Fasher and Mellit locality, 65 km north of El Fasher, where fees are collected from trucks and passenger buses without any legal basis.
He stressed that the Rapid Support Forces have 4 gates on the road, while the army has more than 12 checkpoints, and the armed movements have more than 11. He added: “The minimum amount of 3,000 pounds is collected at each point, otherwise you will not be allowed to pass, despite the… The distance between each checkpoint does not exceed 100 metres.”
For his part, one of the merchants, Sharaf al-Din Omar Haroun, told “Darfur 24” that the gates have become an illegal exchange and increase the value of the goods to the citizen after they reach El Fasher, revealing that the prices of food commodities have risen many times due to the levies taken by the military groups.
He added: “Sugar weighing 50 kilograms in Mellit is worth 84,000 Sudanese pounds and is sold in El Fasher for 92,000 pounds after the increase in the amount at the gates.”
Meanwhile, a source in the Ministry of Finance in North Darfur, who preferred to withhold his name, explained to “Darfur 24” that the checkpoints operate with the knowledge of the state governor, as he had previously been informed in the ministry’s meeting to stop forced taxes on commercial trucks to reduce prices for citizens, indicating that the armed movements and the army have become interested in tax revenues. More than a citizen’s pension.
At the beginning of this February, the Executive Director of El Fasher Locality held an expanded meeting with the Joint Forces Command of the Armed Movements and they agreed to legalize the operation of posts and gates within the city of El Fasher and to prevent random collections from travel buses and commercial trucks.
According to what a number of citizens told Darfur 24, the “gates and posts” inside the city of El Fasher are considered a tool for restricting freedom of movement and collecting money unlawfully.