Blind sheikh detained in Central Darfur

On Monday afternoon the security services arrested Sheikh Matar Younis, a cleric and native administrator in Darfur, from his home in the stadium district of Zalingei.

Koran class in El Waha, near El Fasher, North Darfur (File photo: Mohamed Yousif Adam/Unamid)

On Monday afternoon, security officers held Sheikh Matar Younis, a cleric and native administrator in Darfur, from his home in  Zalingei, capital of Central Darfur.

El Shafee Abdallah, the coordinator of displaced camps in Central Darfur, told Radio Dabanga that a security force seized the sheikh from his house and took him to their offices.

Sheikh Younis, a blind, prominent cleric who is over 60 years old, has a Koran School in Zalingei. He is known as an outspoken criticaster of the El Bashir regime.

Abdallah explained that Sheikh Younis always stands with the concerns of the Sudanese people, especially the displaced. Condemning the detention of the activist cleric, he said he holds the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) and the Sudanese state responsible for any harm afflicting him.

Robbed

Two people were wounded by gunfire by militiamen in an attack on the village of Dubo El Omda in Tawila in North Darfur.

People told Radio Dabanga that the attack was carried out by groups of gunmen in two Land Cruisers, on motorcycles, camels and horses.

They said that at around 8 am on Tuesday, the gunmen fired at the densely populated Dubo El Omda, wounding Hamdallah Yousef and Ibrahim Ishag. They then stormed the village, seized about 400 cows and left the area.