Herders assault and expel South Darfur farmers

Armed herders have subjected farmers in villages near Kass town in South Darfur on Saturday and Sunday to beating, severe whippings, and expulsion from their lands. They threatened the farmers would be killed if they return to cultivate their fields. A victimised farmer told Radio Dabanga that the herders, armed by the government, beat them with rifle butts and whips while they were cultivating their farms west of Kass. The farmers originate from Kalu, Morotoga, Kajo Meder, Toranga and Aradeba. The farmer appealed to the authorities to protect them, deter the herders and the militias ,and bring the perpetrators to justice. In North Darfur’s Kutum locality, farmers have also complained about assaults by government-backed armed herders, who destroy their farms completely. “The latest attack on us happened on Wednesday, as gunmen shot farmer Mousa Osman in both legs and his stomach.” He had been working in his garden at Fatta Borno area, cutting mangoes, when the herders shot him. “As a result, he went into a coma, and was transferred to Kutum hospital for treatment.”File photo: Man cultivating farmland in West Darfur (Albert González Farran / Unamid)