Darfuri students ‘systematically targeted’ across Sudan

The grievances of the Darfuri students at the University of Bakht El Rida highlight an ongoing problem for Darfuri students at universities across Sudan, according to the Association of Darfur Students at the University of the Holy Koran in Omdurman.

In a statement expressing solidarity with the protesting students, the association says that Darfuri students are frequently and systematically targeted for murder, arbitrary arrest, beatings, prosecution, accusations, describing them as racist by the security services and the guards of the National Congress Party and its militias in universities.

This manifests itself in arrests, and avoiding the decision to exempt Darfuri students from fees, dismissal, and suspension.

The representative of the association said that the decision to provide free education for the students of Darfur is a legitimate and constitutional right guaranteed by the agreements, noting that there are numbers of students of El Zaeem El Azhari University who have not been allowed to sit for the examinations so far because of non-payment of fees.

He pointed out that the students of Darfur were targeted at the University of the Holy Koran by the arrest of the head of the association and the deputy secretary-general for 57 days.

He explained that the letter dealt with the arrest of the head of the Association of Darfur Students at El Zaeem El Azhari University.

At El Zaeem El Azhari University, one of the student leaders revealed to Radio Dabanga the arrest of 40 Darfuri students earlier and the dismissal of eight others because of sit-ins protesting the university administration's decision to waive the fees.

He said Darfur's students at the university were being discriminated against by the university administration.