A senior Zaghawa traditional leader was abducted on Sunday in the town of Kornoi, northwest of El Fasher in North Darfur, stoking fears of inter-communal violence, local sources said.
Community figures from Sudan’s border town of Tina said an armed group from another tribe arrived in two pickup trucks mounted with guns and seized Shartai Adam Sabi, the shartai (chief) of Dar Geli in Kornoi locality, before taking him to an unknown location.
The kidnapping followed accusations leveled at members of the Zaghawa community of transmitting drone coordinates to the Rapid Support Forces, allegedly used to strike a meeting of tribal civilian and military figures inside the former UNAMID compound in Tina last Friday, killing nine and wounding others, the sources said.
The claims could not be independently verified. Local activists and conflict monitors say that, amid Sudan’s war, alleging links to the RSF or allied militias has become commonplace—and is often weaponized to settle personal scores or old debts, regardless of accuracy.
Tensions have since spilled into Kornoi, where Sabi’s family was evacuated to safety amid a complete lack of contact with the abducted chief and no information about his condition.
In parallel, mediation efforts are under way. An informed military source in Tina said community delegations led by Sultan Dosa, joined by representatives of traditional authorities from neighboring Chad and accompanied by police, have launched a bid to defuse the crisis and broker a rapid settlement.
The source warned that a prolonged stalemate could ignite local conflict in Tina, Kornoi and Um Baru, urging restraint and the avoidance of military escalation amid deteriorating humanitarian and security conditions.
Tina, Kornoi and Um Baru host thousands of people displaced from El Fasher and other parts of Darfur and Kordofan, according to North Darfur emergency committees.
