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Sudan Darfur terror: Radio presenter wey give birth for road and continue to dey waka

Arafa Adoum born for road

Mon, 24 Jul 2023 Source: BBC

Afta dem kill her three son, one heavily pregnant radio presenter run from di war for Sudan Darfur region with leg - and give birth to a baby boy for di border crossing with Chad.

"I born am for road. No midwives and no-one to support me. Everybody bin dey tink of themselves. Everybody dey run to save dia lives

"Di baby come out, I wrap am up. I no tink of anyting else. I continue to dey waka go Adré," Arafa Adoum tok wen I meet her for refugee camp of tens of thousands of pipo on di outskirts of di Chadian town.

Di 38-year-old say she bin don dey waka for di hot sun for 25km (15 miles) from her hometown of El Geneina with her four daughters, while her husband - for im own safety - bin take a longer and more harder route to reach di camp.

"Wen I arrive for di border, I don tire and dey exhausted until I deliver di baby," Mrs Adoum tok, pointing out say she bin name her son Mohamed, afta di Prophet of Islam.

She leave behind di unburied deadi bodi of her oda boys - between di age of three, seven and nine years - afta she say dem die for di hands of paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied Arab militiamen for di centre of di war for Sudan since April.

Darfur na di worst-affected area, with di RSF and di militias wey dey accused of trying to establish Arab supremacy for di region by "cleansing" it of black Africans - including those from Mrs Adoum Massalit community.

Not surprisingly, di battle for El Geneina - wey be historically a symbol of black African power for Darfur, and di traditional capital of di Massalit kingdom - na ruthless one.

"We try to defend ourselves, but dem dey use very big weapons," na so Sheikh Mohammed Yagoub, one influential Muslim cleric and Massalit leader, wey don also become refugee for Adré tok.

"For our area in one day, we lost 82 [pipo] within three hours," e add.

RSF deny involvement in di fighting, but say Darfur dey witness di waking up of an old conflict between Arab groups and di Massalit.

Giving her version, Mrs Adoum say her three sons die for El Geneina university - wia dem bin dey take refuge - afta RSF and Janjaweed as dem dey call di Arab militias shell and burn am.

"Shells hit di three kids and dem lost dia lives for dat same spot," Mrs Adoum tok.

Dem also kill several members of her extended family, she tok, including her father-in-law, wey dem "smash" im two legs, cut one of im ears, and den "fire some bullets, to finish am".

Mrs Adoum and her husband come run with dia four daughters, but e take back routes to avoid passing through RSF-manned roadblocks as di paramilitaries bin dey - according to plenti refugees - kill Massalit men and boys, sometimes by pouring dem petrol and setting dem on fire.

Di couple reunite for di refugee camp, wia her husband hold Mohamed for di first time - pikin wey dem see as a blessing afta di loss of three sons.

Dis wicked tori dey come as four East African states push for a regional peacekeeping force to dey deployed to Sudan, with Kenya President William Ruto wey raise concern say dem dey "destroy" di kontri, and "already signs dey of a genocide" for Darfur.

One joint United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) peacekeeping force withdraw from Darfur for 2021, about 18 years afta di conflict, wey cause di deaths of 300,000 pipo, first break out for di region.

Di conflict bin cause global outrage, with di International Criminal Court (ICC) indicting Sudan den-ruler Omar al-Bashir on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, wey e deny.

Wen di peacekeepers withdrew, UN say di decision dey aimed at "empowering Sudan goment to take charge of maintaining peace for di region".

But since dia withdrawal, Sudan don dey hit by a coup, and fall into a civil war for mid-April afta im two most powerful generals - army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti - fall out.

Dia fight don reignite di conflict for Darfur, forcing more dan 160,000 pipo from di Massalit community to run to Chad. E no clear how many pipo don die for di region, with di lowest estimate of di death toll for El Geneina wey dem say na 5,000. According to Sudan Professional Pharmacists Association, Dem don bury 11,000 bodies in mass graves for di city, while some refugees tell BBC say den see deadi bodies wey dem throw into di city river.

RSF also ransack di city of Zalingei, home to di Fur community, and encircle di two biggest cities for di region, Fasher and Nyala.

Many Darfuris fear say dis na di part of a long-standing plan to transform di ethnically mixed region into an Arab-ruled domain.

Dem say El Geneina - along with plenti oda towns and villages - don dey empty of most of diaresidents, with buildings and infrastructure - including hospitals and water stations - wey dey destroyed.

Source: BBC