Janjaweed Attack town in el-Geneina

June 03, 2008

         Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy has been recently informed of a distressing attack in the El-Geniena district, Ardamata, east of El Geniena. Witnesses say a group consisting of approximately 5 Janjaweed fighters approached the house of the Al-Sheikh, Sherriff Tazura by horse back on the evening of June 3rd, 2008. They proceeded to surround the house and open machine gun fire. In fear for their lives, Sherriff Tazura, his son Mohamed Tazura, and others inside the house retaliated by opening return fire on the Janjaweed militiamen. This fighting only lasted for about 15 minutes and fortunately none of the victims were killed or badly injured. The home of Sherriff Tazura was also able to remain standing, as it was one of the few made of bricks and unable to be destroyed by the Janjaweed. It would seem that the overall damage from this attack was minimal, however, after the fighting, the attackers escaped towards the north-east of Ardamata to Arbokni, a village 6 miles away. It is unfortunate that despite the fact that Sherriff Tazura lives in an area that is located in such close proximity to the police and army base there was no one to help deliver him thus enabling his attackers to escape; a good indicator that the particular area is controlled by the Janjaweed. Before fleeing the scene, witnesses say the attackers promised to return much to the fear and dismay of all those in the area.
    

         Sherriff Tazura is very well known in the region as a trader; he exports sheep and camels from Darfur to Egypt. Formerly, he was a partner to the Janjaweed militia but a sudden bankruptcy placed him in a position unable to support them. It was at this time that Tazura felt it was necessary to pull away from the Janjaweed. They were not willing to let him go so easily. They tried to convince him to return and when he refused, they set out to kill him. Many witnesses claim that this was the reasoning behind the June 1st attack.
      

         Damanga is very concerned about the deterioration of the situation in Darfur and fears retaliation from the government, especially in the area of west Darfur between the Chad and Sudan border as many refugees inhabit this area. Damanga also recognizes the necessity of UN interference and urges their involvement in deploying their 26,000 troops immediately, before the rainy season begins, in order to protect these refugees.