Child kidnapped in eastern Sudan

A child was kidnapped in the eastern Sudanese city of Kassala last week, allegedly by a gang of human traffickers. The have demanded a ransom of SDG1 million ($163,000) for the child’s release.

Activist Mahmoud Azhari told Radio Dabanga that the child has not yet been released, as the parents are unable to pay the ransom. He warned that sedition might arise between the tribes of eastern Sudan as a result of human trafficking.

The Minister of Justice, Hassan Awad El Nur, has acknowledged in Parliament that 186 criminal cases of human trafficking were filed in 2014-2015; 92 of them in Kassala state in 2014, 69 in Sawaken and 61 in El Gedaref state during the past two years.

The State Minister of Human Resources, Dr Amna Dirar, has confirmed the persistence of human trafficking in the El Gedaref, the Red Sea, the North and Kordofan states. She accuses the Government of negligence in the fight against human trafficking. She called for the enforcement of the death sentence on traffickers.

Activist and lawyer Abdelgader Mohamed Saleh, said that the trafficking of human beings is now beyond the control of the Government.