Security detains six West Darfur school board members

The Sudanese security service detained six board members of a school in Murnei camp, West Darfur, against the backdrop of fighting that erupted there last Wednesday, which resulted in the school burning down.

The six Solo school board members, all fathers of pupils, were seized from their homes in Murnei and have been moved to the security's offices in El Geneina, the capital of the state. A Sheikh of camp Murnei has disclosed their names to Radio Dabanga. 

“The security agents are still persuing the suspects and raiding their homes in order to detain them,” the Sheikh said. He is concerned that the six detainees might be subjected to ill-treatment at the hands of the agents in El Geneina, and called for a fair trial.

The detained school board members who are now being held in El Geneina are Dr. Abu Bakar Ismail, Ishag Halangi, Abdelrahman Mohamed Saleh, Abdu Omar, Saleh Goma, and Mohamed Abdelrahman.

Last Wednesday, the children in the basic school in the camp demonstrated against the arrival of a medical team. The team's objective was to vaccinate the pupils against schistosomiasis, but had not notified Solo school.

Reports state that the unsuspected arrival sparked children to demonstrate. The police intervened with gunfire and teargas to disperse the crowd. Three people were injured, including a woman. The gunfire ignited a fire that destroyed the straw building, including 16 classrooms.