North Darfur displaced demand release of detainees

The people displaced living in Sortony camp in North Darfur’s Kabkabiya locality are calling for the release of 21 other camp residents who are reportedly being held in El Fasher.
Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a community sheikh reported from Sortony that on August 12, a joint force of militiamen of the Rapid Support Forces and El Sadig Fakka group stormed the camp and detained 18 displaced people accused of being affiliated with the Sudan Liberation Movement under the leadership of Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW).

Newly displaced people from Jebel Marra seek refuge near the Unamid base in Sortony, North Darfur, in February 2016 (Unamid)

The people displaced living in Sortony camp in North Darfur’s Kabkabiya locality are calling for the release of 21 other camp residents who are reportedly being held in El Fasher.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a community sheikh reported from Sortony that on August 12, a joint force of militiamen of the Rapid Support Forces and El Sadig Fakka group stormed the camp and detained 18 displaced people accused of being affiliated with the Sudan Liberation Movement under the leadership of Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW).

El Sadig Fakka group consists of a number of rebel combatants who recently split from the SLM-AW, the camp sheikh explained. “We think they wanted to prove their loyalty to the authorities by accusing the displaced in Sortony of supporting the rebels.”

On September 18, basic school teacher and head of the Youth Association in the camp, Abdalla Bundug, and teacher and deputy head Jamal Nimir, along with a third camp resident were detained as well.

All detainees are being held in the notorious Shala prison in the North Darfur capital of El Fasher.

“The people in the camp are very concerned about the health of the detainees. They demand their immediate release as the detainees have nothing to do with the rebels,” the sheikh said.