Militia threat; North Darfur market closed for fifth day

Shops of the market in Tawila, North Darfur, were closed for the fifth consecutive day on Thursday in fear of further attacks by militiamen. The town’s citizens, as well as the displaced residents of Rwanda and Argo camps, have remained inside their homes. The militiamen have threatened to invade the town and burn the camps after one their number was killed last week. The militia demanded blood money from the displaced; however, the people have strongly denied any involvement in the murder. They stressed that they have no weapons, and that the government forces and militias are the only ones who own guns. Omda Ateem, the coordinator of North Darfur camps has condemned the militia’s threat, saying that “the responsibility for the suffering of the displaced lies with Unamid, which is charged with protecting them and the government that trained and armed these militias. Omda Ateem appealed to residents of camp Rwanda not to leave the camp and flee to the open in case the militiamen decide to launch an assault on the camp. “They should rather resort to Unamid headquarters, and if Unamid is unable to protect the displaced, it should speed up formally notifying the Security Council of the situation.”File photo: North Darfur market (Unamid)Related:Militia attack shuts-down shops in North Darfur camp (4 February 2014)