Darfur rebels: Govt. forces shell villages in East Jebel Marra

Sudanese government forces reportedly attacked a number of villages in northern East Jebel Marra in South Darfur on Friday. The shelling led to the burning of two villages.

Two villages burned to the ground, the Sudan Liberation Movement under the leadership of Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW) reported on Friday.

Waleed Abakar, the military spokesman for the SLM-AW, told Radio Dabanga that the government forces stationed in Kara began shelling villages north of the area on Thursday evening.

“When they stopped their missile attacks on Friday afternoon, the villages of Gubu and Tirbel were entirely consumed by fire,” he said. “All the villagers fled. Many sought refuge in mountain caves in the neighbourhood.”

The rebel spokesman appealed to the international community and humanitarian organisations to intervene and provide aid to the newly displaced.

End March and early April, government forces attacked the areas of Sawani, Rokona, and Libei in East Jebel Marra. The areas are the last strongholds of the SLM-AW. 

More than 50,000 people fled the fighting and militia attacks on their villages. Activists told this station in mid-April that the newly displaced were living in the open or hiding in caves after their homes burned to the ground.