Activists report militia attacks, killings in Darfur

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Local reports suggest the incident started when militias attacked a local market where stalls were closed as part of a strike.  Militias set fire to the market, and shot indiscriminately at traders who tried to stop them, killing at least seven people.  

A video of what purported to be the village being burnt was circulated by activists on twitter, with some suggested a 'new massacre' was underway.  

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Meanwhile Sudani Telecom, a state communications network, was reported to be messaging Sudanese residents saying that 'groups' were attempting to get weapons to 'transfer battles to the city'.  Meanwhile, activists report that weapons have been left around in what they view maybe an attempt to encourage citizens to engage in fighting, while protesters have remained determined avoid violence.  

As internet has been cut off in Sudan, it is increasingly difficult to confirm reports from the country.

Heavily armed and dressed in desert fatigues, Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have made their presence felt in Khartoum since military generals cracked down on a long-running sit-in.

Piled onto pickup trucks mounted with machine guns or patrolling the streets on foot, they are seen by some protesters as a new version of the infamous Janjaweed militias accused of horrific abuses in Darfur.

The RSF is a paramilitary force led by the deputy head of the ruling Transitional Military Council, Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, nicknamed Himeidti.

Dagalo was a former leader of one of the Arab Janjaweed militias at the height of the conflict in Darfur that started in 2003.

The Janjaweed militias were recruited when Khartoum trained and equipped Arab raiders to crush an ethnic minority rebellion in the area.

The groups were sent to attack villages on camel and horseback as part of a campaign of terror that saw now ousted president Omar al-Bashir indicted for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide by the International Criminal Court (ICC).