Murder of Popular Singer Fuels Tensions in West Kordofan

Popular singer Mohamed Hamad, widely known as “Ziko Adela,” was shot dead Saturday evening in Al-Mujlad, West Kordofan State, after being attacked by two armed men while returning from a concert in the city.

A relative of the victim told Darfur24 that the gunmen intercepted his vehicle and demanded the keys. When he refused, they opened fire, shooting him six times and killing him instantly before fleeing the scene without stealing anything.

Ziko Adela was among the young artists who chose to settle in Al-Mujlad after being displaced from Khartoum State following the outbreak of fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia in April 2023.

His killing has triggered security tensions in the city, amid calls from his family for authorities to apprehend the perpetrators and uncover the motives behind the crime.