Residents of Zalingei, the capital of Central Darfur State, have protested the wanton widespread acts of vandalism and looting in their homes.
They complained of a series of attacks characterized by blatant looting in Al-Fayhaa, Al-Istad, Al-Hasahisa, Al-Gharbi and other neighbourhoods.
The residents of these neighbourhoods are caught between the anvil of the difficult security conditions that still prevent them from returning to their homes and the hammer of the unruly people who loot their homes day after day.
Sabir Gasim, a resident, told Radio Tamazuj that the looting and encroachment affected almost everything, without any benefit from the security operations carried out by the Rapid Support focal points, whose capacity is still less than covering the entire neighbourhood.
“The Rapid Support Forces prevent homeowners from dismantling and withdrawing their property and at the same time they are unable to secure neighbourhoods from theft and vandalism. The behaviour of unruly people has created general discontent among the citizens of those neighbourhoods,” he said.
Another citizen, who sought anonymity, said they received a commitment from one of the Rapid Support Forces officials to secure their homes, but they were surprised by thefts and vandalism the next day.
He called on citizens to be cohesive and defy the security risks by returning to their homes to reduce the phenomenon of thefts and vandalism that is increasing in abandoned residential sites and homes.
“I appeal to the RSF commander in the Zalingei region to resolve the security chaos and impose stability within the city,” he said.
Najm al-Din, a resident, expressed his deep dissatisfaction with the extent of the damage that occurred to his home and the homes of his neighbours in the Al-Fayhaa neighbourhood, west of the city of Zalingei, describing the damage as “beyond all imagination.”
He pointed out that the thugs looted everything from the house, including beds, appliances, equipment, clothes, building materials, and heavy doors.
“The security chaos had reached the point of stealing building bricks and ceramic floor tiles, which forced citizens to look for ways of transporting the remaining building materials,” he said.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, Najm Al-Din called on the relevant authorities to quickly intervene to end what he called chaos and remove the harm caused to citizens after they had reached an irreparable extent.