Armed militias are preventing residents of Gili village, 15 km northeast of Tawila, North Darfur, from collecting firewood from their farms .

Displaced people community leader in Tawila locality, Mukhtar Bosh, said in a telephonic conversation with Darfur 24, that armed militia members riding camels and horses had prevented the women of the Gili village from collecting straw and firewood from farms, and had confiscated all the tools used for firewood collection.

The IDP leader, stated that the militants ordered the women to leave the farms immediately and not to return to them again, and that the meadow had become only for their camels and livestock, not for collecting straw and firewood.

Mokhtar Bosh, called on the competent authorities to expel the militants and provide local residents with the necessary protection.

Recently, armed militias have been attacking villagers in various areas of Darfur, taking advantage of the fragile security situation in the region and the authorities inability to deter the perpetrators and bring them to justice.