2004 - Darfur, Sudan

Dr. Halima Bashir

"Suddenly the lead helicopter banked low over the village and there were a series of bright flashes and puffs of smoke from under its stubby wings. An instant later, the huts beneath it exploded, mud and thatch and branches and bodies being thrown into the air."

"All around us people were waking up to the fact of the attack, and crying out in alarm.  'Kewoh! Kewoh! - Run! Run!'  'Souf! Souf! - Hide! Hide!'"

"The Janjaweed urged their horses forward, tossing blazing torches onto the huts, the dry thatch roofs bursting into flames.  I kept glancing behind in fear at the flashes of gunfire and the flames that were sweeping through the village like a wave of fiery death. I could hear the devil horsemen screaming like animals, a howling wave of evil and hatred tearing our village asunder. As they got closer and closer I could make out the individual Arabic phrases that they were chanting, over and over and over again.
'We're coming for you! To kill you all!'
'Kill the black slaves! Kill the black slaves'
'No one will escape! We will kill you all!"

"We ran and ran, each step taking us further from the hell of the village.  I was terrified for all of us, but half of my mind was back in the village with my father. With no weapon but his dagger he had chosen to stand and face this terrible onslaught. I knew why he had done so. Those who had chosen to stay and fight did so to stop the Janjaweed from reaching the women and children - to buy us some time.  They stayed to save their families, not to defend the village. They did so to save us from the Janjaweed."

"Up ahead I could see the helicopters circling, turning for another attack run, and then there were further flashes and smoke, and bullets and rockets were tearing into the fleeing women and children, ripping bodies apart. Omer grabbed my hand, and dragged my mother, my sister and me to one side, out of the murderous path of their onslaught."

"We weaved and dodged and raced ahead for the safety of the forest, passing bloodied heaps that had once been our village neighbours and our friends. Their bodies had been torn apart by the bullets from above. Some of them were still alive, crawling and staggering on. They cried out to us, holding out their hands and pleading for help. But if we stopped the Janjaweed would be upon us and we all would die. So we ran, abandoning the wounded and the old and the slow and the infants to the terror of the Janjaweed."

"Finally we reached the safety of the deep forest, where the helicopters could no longer hunt us down from the air. We hid within the cover of the trees. Everywhere I looked there were scattered groups of villagers. Mo, Omer, Asia, my mother and I were breathless and fearful. We crouched in the shadows and listened to the noise of the battle raging on - trying to work out if it was coming closer, and whether we had to run once more."

From Tears of the Desert, a Memoir of Survival in Darfur, Halima Bashir (with Damien Lewis)

2012 - Darfur, Sudan


2012 - Darfur, Sudan

Destruction left behind after an attack on Sigili village, North Darfur. Photo: UNAMID/Albert González Farran

7 November 2012 – The acting head of the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur, known by the acronym UNAMID, has called on the Government of Sudan to “swiftly” proceed with its investigation into violence which reportedly affected the village of Sigili.

“I urge the Government of Sudan to swiftly conduct its planned investigation into Sigili incident and bring the perpetrators to justice,” said UNAMID's Acting Joint Special Representative and Joint Chief Mediator a.i., Aichatou Mindaoudou.

UNAMID had received reports some days ago of an alleged attack on civilians that resulted in fatalities, an abduction of a civilian and widespread population displacement in Sigili, located in the Shawa area, about 40 kilometres southeast of El Fasher, the capital city of the west Sudanese state of North Darfur. The attack reportedly took place on Friday.

Yesterday, UNAMID deployed a civilian-military team to Sigili, as well as Abu Delek – another area reportedly affected by violence – to verify the reports. The team found Sigili village completely deserted, with apparent signs of an abrupt departure.

It also noticed several signs of destruction of housing and property, killed animals, and burnt houses, in addition to ammunition found in different sites across the village. The team was unable to go to Abu Delek.

“On the way to Abu Delek area, located approximately 60 kilometres southeast of El Fasher, the verification team was stopped by members of the Popular Defense Forces, who insisted on searching the nine-vehicle convoy,” UNAMID noted in a news release, referring to an irregular militia allied to the Sudanese army. “After lengthy discussion, the team decided to postpone the mission to Abu Delek and returned to El Fasher.