Court cancels trial of South Kordofan paramilitaries

The Sudanese terrorism court refused to proceed with the trial of 15 members of the Popular Defence Forces, accused of killing civilians in South Kordofan in September 2016, because the defendants appeared in military uniforms in the court.

The judge of the court, Abdeen Dahi, refused to continue the proceedings on Thursday when the paramilitaries wore military uniforms – contrary to the decision of the court in its last session, when the judge ordered them not to appear in military uniforms again.

In September last year, members of the Popular Defense Forces attacked El Senadra near El Abbasiya Tegeli, and killed eight civilians. Dozens of people were wounded and large parts of the village were torched.

Judge Dahi also ordered the defendants to be held in detention in the Sudanese capital instead of transferring them to the court in Abbassiya Tegeli.

A group of PDF troops in two Land Cruisers mounted with Dushka machineguns, and others on about 70 motorcycles raided El Senadra and El Shawaya at 7 am on a Friday. After shooting 24 people, they plundered the villages. Thousands of people held sit-ins in front of El Abbasiya Hospital in El Abbasiya, South Kordofan, in protest against the militia attack on El Senadra and El Shawaya villages in the neighbourhood.