Darfuri students detained in Sudan’s capital

Security forces forcibly expelled about 70 female students from Darfur from the Zahra boarding complex of the prestigious University of Khartoum, and detained more than 15 of them on Sunday morning. On Wednesday, the number of students detained reportedly doubled. “Electricity and water services were cut off at the Zahra boarding facility for female students, on Monday morning,” Awad Mohamed Adam, member of the University of Khartoum’s Student Union told Radio Dabanga. “The National Fund for Student Care had issued an order to evacuate the students two days before the start of Eid El Adha. The Darfuri students, however, refused to leave because they do not have family in Khartoum, and cannot afford more expensive accommodation.” “At about 2 am on Sunday, security forces raided the dormitory, and expelled the remaining 70 students. More than 15 of them were taken to various security detention centres and police stations in the city.”On Wednesday, the Independent Students’ Congress announced in a statement that at least 30 Darfuri female students were detained. They may be subjected to various kinds of torture and extortion by security officers, the statement warned. A number of female students said that they were sexually harassed by the police and security agents, besides being robbed of their money and mobile phones.  File photo: Students at the University of Khartoum (Qusai Akoud/Flickr)