Omda: no crime investigation in Darfur

Omda Ahmed Ateem, coordinator of North Darfur camps, stated that the Government of Sudan (GoS) has not investigated many of the crimes committed in Darfur, he told Radio Dabanga on Monday, 5 November. He suggested that despite committing to carry out investigations, the GoS removes the files instead. Ateem called for the investigation of the recent massacre in Sigili, but also of crimes committed in Kassab, Fatta Barno, Hamidiya and Hashaba. He added that the lack of investigation appears to be a way of the GoS to promote impunity and to conceal what actually happened. The omda stressed that the fate of the Sigili investigation may be the same as from other crimes that took place in Darfur, in which no investigations were ever carried out. He continued saying that the main proof of the government’s desire to conceal facts and the identity of perpetrators from Sigili is that it prevented UNAMID from going to the village to assess what happened. Ateem pointed out that if the government wants justice, the perpetrators are known and could be arrested. In addition, not bringing perpetrators to justice and concealing crimes is why criminality spreads so quickly in Darfur and why there is no security in the region, he added. Omda Ateem called on the international community to form an investigation committee, which is independent and impartial, to look into all these crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice.