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Sudan

Masked gunmen kill imam in Darfur

ZALINGEI (21 Jun.) - An imam and local leader for the displaced people, Ibrahim Haroon Ahmed (52) was shot dead by masked men. It happened on Tuesday evening near the offices of Hamedya camp, one of the main IDP-camps in the vicinity of Zalingei in Central Darfur.Radio Dabanga reports that the sheikh, who was an imam in the mosque and a guard at the Technology College near the camp, had left on Tuesday evening his office. On his way home he was spotted by three armed and masked men, who shot him from behind. They left him behind while severely bleeding. Several IDP's tried to rescue the sheikh, but the gunmen returned and opened fire on them. They were forced to flee the scene. They told Radio Dabanga that they had left the imam 'whispering while dying'. Prior to the murder the armed men already robbed a number of students, who were returning from Saraf Umra. They robbed the students from all their money and clothes at gunpoint. They fired shots into the air. The coordinator of the Zalingei camps reported the incident immediately to UNAMID-peacekeeping operation in Darfur. UNAMID sent an investigation team the next morning while the militia had already left.