The Sudan Democracy First Group (SDFG), based in Kampala, released a press statement on Thursday accusing the notorious government-backed Janjaweed mililtia group of killing 10 civilians and injuring another 10 inside Azrni mosque in West Darfur last Sunday.
“The Janjaweed committed this attack against the civilians of Azrni in retaliation, following friction between citizens and militiamen Sunday morning after the militiamen refused to pay for goods and services at the local market,” read the SDFG statement.
“The attack happened in sight of government army troops who were deployed to the area following that friction.
“The victims included several youths, members of the graduates union, who were active in service provision and local development issues in the area,” said the SDFG.
“This killing of civilians at the Azrni mosque, which is further evidence of Khartoum’s brutality, is the latest in a long list of killings and crimes committed by the Sudanese Armed Forces and the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) militias.
Several weeks ago six children were killed in Hieban, South Kordofan/ Nuba Mountains, during a Sudanese government aerial bombardment.
The SDFG said NCP has adopted a strategy of “creating further chaos and suffering” in Darfur through the use of excessive violence against civilians, in order to drive these citizens from their homelands and replace them with new, pro-NCP settlers.
This strategy includes announcing in January the dismantling of IDP camps, conducting an administrative referendum in April, and calling for the expulsion of the international peace-keeping mission to Darfur (UNAMID), said SDFG.
The SDFG also claimed that continuous military campaign and aerial bombardments against villages around Jebel Marra, and other areas of Darfur are also part of this strategy.
The Janjaweed militia are fighting various Darfur rebel groups, including the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and the Justice and Equality Movement, and are backed by the Sudanese government’s National Congress Party (NCP).
Since 2003 they have been one of the main players in the Darfur conflict, which has pitted the largely nomadic tribes against the sedentary population of the region in a battle over resources and land allocation.
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