Sudan’s VP warns they will kill anyone defying weapons collection campaign

[Elisabeth Janaina]

Sudan’s VP warns they will kill anyone defying weapons collection campaign

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Weapons and vehicles including two ambulances captured by the RSF in
Ain Siro on 1 June 2017 (ST photo)

August 27, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese Vice President Sunday said
presidential directives have been issued to kill those who may resist
the arms-collection campaign and accused unidentified officials of
promoting weapons, saying if needed they may lift their immunity.

"The government represented by the national campaign to collect
weapons from the conflict zones in the states of Darfur and Kordofan
regions gave a full mandate to the regular forces based on the "shoot
to kill" (as he said in English) policy to deal with the recalcitrant
who resist the campaign," said Hasabo Mohamed Abdel Rahman who also
heads the Higher Arms Collection Committee.

In a speech at the launch of a campaign in support of the disarmament
by the forum of political parties’ women, Abdel Rahman further warned
they will deal roughly with the "warlords" who stand against the
collection of weapons.

"We will arrest all the warlords who are behind the spread of chaos
and arms in Sudan and bring them to trial, even if it requires the
lifting of immunities for some constitutionalists who promote weapons
through the social media while they reside in the capital Khartoum,"
he further said.

The strongly worded statements come as the Sudanese vice president was
slammed last week by the tribal leader Musa Hilal who rejects the
disarmament campaign and the merger of his Border Guards militia in
the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Hilal and Abdel Rahman both belong to the Rizeiggat ethnic group but
this didn’t prevent the senior official and the notorious militia
leader from threatening each other through the.social media and public
statements.

The tribal leader says he was betrayed by the government despite all
what he did in the counterinsurgency campaign in the past years
pointing that they appointed one of his commanders, Mohamed Hamdan
Daglo, (aka Hametti), at the head of the RSF militia which is not part
of the national army, a matter that undermines his tribal authority.

The vice president stressed that the government from now onwards will
not tolerate those carrying arms, saying that it is one of the threats
to security and social peace in the country.

The government "will not tolerate these people, if necessary we will
put them in prison in exchange for restoring stability and security
for citizens," he added.

The Sudanese official announced that the government has closed 63
crossing points on the border with the neighbouring countries to
prevent arms trafficking to the country.

He further pointed to the devastating effect of weapons in the tribal
clashes saying 135 people were killed in recent fighting over land in
West Kordofan and 89 victims in East Darfur.

The detractors of the weapons collection campaign say the government
has to achieve peace first and to disarm all the tribes in Darfur
pointing that the RSF is formed mainly from Arab militia in Darfur and
they will use their arms to defend it whenever needed.

(ST)