‘Child traffickers’ arrested in North Darfur

The authorities in North Darfur arrested three men in El Kuma locality in North Darfur on Monday. They are accused of kidnapping children and selling them to herders in the area.

Two of the three detainees are members of the Popular Police Forces, who are suspected of kidnapping children in North Darfur and selling them in El Kuma to serve as herders.

The suspects have transferred to the North Darfur capital of El Fasher where a complaint was filed against them under the Family and Children Act.

Maryam Adam, the mother of 12-year-old Abu Ebeida Abdallah, told the press in El Fasher on Tuesday that her son disappeared in August.

On Saturday, she was surprised to hear that her son was being treated in the Hospital of El Malha, north of El Kuma. His ‘owner’ had taken him to the hospital after he fell ill.

She said that her son told the doctor treating him that he was kidnapped, and forced to work for the camel owner, together with other abducted children.

He gave the doctor his address, and the medic immediately contacted the boy’s family.

Adam said her son has been transferred to a hospital in El Fasher as his health was deteriorating.

After the kidnappers were arrested, the family of Abdallah reported that they were pressurised "by influential people" to withdraw their complaint against the policemen. His mother therefore appealed to human rights organisations to protect them from “influential people who are trying to close the file”.