Wad Madani, May 21(Darfur 24)
The Central Committee of the Canabi Conference in Sudan announced on Tuesday a new series of violations, which it described as “systematic,” committed by the Sudan Shield Forces against the residents of canabi in Al-Gazeera State.
“Canabi” are residential communities on the outskirts of cities and villages in Al-Jazeera State, central Sudan, inhabited by workers working on the agricultural projects in the central state.
These communities had been subjected to a wave of violations after the war spread to the Al-Jazeera region, but the most severe occurred after the Sudanese army recaptured the city of Wad Madani last January and continued as it advanced into areas of the state that had been under the control of the Rapid Support Forces( RSF)for about a year.
In a statement received by Darfur 24 on Tuesday, the Central Committee said that the violations take various forms, including looting, theft, and intimidation, indicating that they systematically aim to displace residents from their lands under the guise of “cooperating with RSF.”
The violations targeted “Kampo Al-Qoz, Campo Zaghawa, and Village 14 in the rural area of Al-Masid,” according to the statement.
It added that “citizens’ property was openly looted and stolen, and they were terrorized using barbaric terrorist methods, creating a state of extreme fear and terror,” according to the statement.
It explained that the looting and violations are being carried out by militias known as “Sudan Shield,” along with some other armed individuals.
It indicated that the violations reveal a new policy aimed at emptying Canabi of its residents, either through direct forced displacement or under the pressure of suffering and insecurity.
The Central Security Forces also announced that it had monitored cases of arbitrary detention of a number of citizens without due legal process, some of whom were subjected to ill-treatment.