Authorities in Sudan’s South Darfur state, which is controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), have suspended commercial activities at Qadira Market, southwest of Nyala, following a rise in violent crime, including 35 reported killings, as well as robberies and abductions.
The decision was taken by the state security committee after what officials described as a deterioration in security at the site.
Musa Al-Sheikh Taha, director of Nyala municipality, told Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday that authorities had ordered the closure and removal of the market because of increasing criminal activity.
“Qadira is not actually a market; it is a fuel station. But because of the war and the disruption of commercial activities in Nyala’s main markets, traders moved there because it was relatively far from areas of fighting,” he said.
He described Qadira as a temporary market that developed during the war and eventually expanded to about two kilometres, becoming a major commercial hub.
But the market also became associated with drug-related offences and other crimes. Al-Sheikh Taha said 35 people had been killed in cases classified by authorities as premeditated murder.
He said residents had welcomed the closure, arguing that the makeshift market had expanded into areas in front of and around their homes, causing disruption.
Following the security committee’s decision, traders and residents were instructed to move their commercial activities to other markets, including Baghdad, Al-Tomat and Lam markets, as well as the Popular Market and the Grand Market.
Al-Sheikh Taha acknowledged that drugs were widely available in the area, describing this as one of the consequences of the war.
He said authorities had stepped up efforts to tackle drug trafficking and use, while also seeking to restore state authority through the deployment of regular security forces and cooperation with local communities.
and then