Herders chop-off North Darfur farmer’s hand

Armed herders have stabbed a farmer and chopped-off his hand in Tawila locality (popularly known as eastern Jebel Marra) in North Darfur on Wednesday.

A relative of the victim told Radio Dabanga that three armed herders attacked farmer Mohamed Ahmed Hamid while he was tilling his farm at area Suri area near Khazan Tunjur, ordered him to immediately leave the farm as the area has become a pasture not for farming, and when he refused, one of the herders chopped-off his right hand with a sword.

Hamid lost a lot of blood and was taken in critical condition to Tawila Hospital.

He said the herders told them that what happened to Hamid is a warning to anyone else who comes to the area to farm or collect hay. The herders reportedly threatened to kill anyone else, and not just cut-off their hand.

Kutum

A number of farmers were injured at Tuma village, 10 km east of Kutum in North Darfur by beatings and flogging by herders.

Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that on Saturday armed herders riding two Land Cruisers led by Ibrahim Abubaker attacked Tuma village where the residents returned last month as part of the voluntary return, beat and injured them, one of them named El Fadil Mohamed Ali was seriously injured.

 The witnesses said the gunmen kidnapped three residents of the village, took them to Damirat Um Sayala, held them there for two consecutive days and only released them last Monday.

They pointed that the kidnappers told them that the area is liberated and has become a pasture for their cattle and camels.

They threatened to beat and kill them if they do not return to where they came from.

The kidnapped were Abubakar Yousef El Doma, a basic school teacher, Abdelmajid Ahmad Abakar, a veterinary assistant, and Mutasim Abdallah.