Nairobi, September 28 (Darfur24)
Eighteen people, including a leader of the Native Administration, were killed while searching for passengers who went missing after a commercial vehicle broke down in the desert of North Darfur, according to local leaders and relatives of the victims.
Haroun Khater, a Native Administration official in North Darfur, told Darfur24 that a four-wheel-drive Land Cruiser transporting 10 passengers and goods between the Al-Tina border area with Chad and Al-Dabba in Northern State broke down in the northeastern part of the North Darfur desert.
The vehicle’s owner, Suleiman Jaqad Safi, left with the passengers after the breakdown, but contact with them was later lost. Khater said a group of residents went in search of them and eventually found the vehicle and Safi’s body, several days after his death.
While continuing to search for the other missing passengers, the group was ambushed by men believed to be affiliated with the Rapid Support Forces, who opened fire and seized two vehicles, according to Khater. Videos purportedly documenting the incident were circulated online.
Mohammed Ibrahim Ahmed, a relative of some of the victims, told Darfur24 that those killed included Emi Juma Bakr, the Nazir of Jarmouk and a Native Administration leader in Dar Zaghawa in the Mazbad area, along with 17 others.
Taj El-Din Ismail Ali, another relative of the victims, said those killed included Al-Muaz Suleiman Jaqad, the son of the missing vehicle’s owner, as well as a local leader. He said the victims’ bodies were buried after residents reached the area.
The search for the remaining missing passengers was continuing, according to relatives, despite security risks facing the search teams.
A video published last Thursday and verified by Darfur24 shows men identified as RSF members firing into the air, while several bodies in civilian clothing lie on the ground alongside two vehicles in a desert area.
Darfur24’s review of the footage identified a man named Janabo Hassan, whom the outlet believes to be an RSF commander operating in the desert area, based on comparison with previously verified footage. The circumstances surrounding the deaths could not be independently established.
The North Darfur desert has witnessed several incidents involving the killing and detention of civilians in recent months, including traders and a volunteer associated with an emergency response group, according to local sources.
The incidents have intensified amid increased RSF efforts to control desert routes linking Darfur, Kordofan, Northern State and the border areas, following the defection of RSF commanders Al-Nur Al-Qubba and Ali Rizq Allah “Al-Safana” and their reported alignment with the Sudanese army.