The Kidnapping of a Businessman by Militiamen in Nyala

Nyala, South Darfur, January 2017

Gunmen riding in a Land Cruiser in Nyala City kidnapped the director of procurement of the Medical City, a governmental hospital in Nyala, and president of the Wadi Neighborhood Nyala Club, Dr. Abu Obeida Mahmoud Eltaher, from in front of a mosque in Cinema neighborhood at sunset. According to reliable sources, he was taken to an unknown destination. The police received a report of the incident and tracked down the perpetrators.

According to a witness, “four gunmen in a four-wheel drive vehicle intercepted Dr. Abu Obeida on the road, threatened him with guns, forced him into their car and then fled”. Activists from the city stated that the gunmen belong to the border control militia which is close to the government. These militiamen often target rich merchants and businessmen on the pretext of ethnic identity, then asking families and relatives to pay ransom for their release. In the past few months, gunmen have kidnapped seven businessmen from Nyala City. According to official statistics made public in a press statement by the head of Nyala Northern District in Parliament, Mr. Omar Suleiman, only three have been released.

The city is experiencing decline in security, as gangs that kill and those engage in kidnapping have spread in the past few years. Nyala is considered the second largest city in Sudan after Khartoum; it has the largest military and security forces base, as well as serving as a base for the 26,000-strong forces of the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)