Dozens of students arrested in El-Fasher

The Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) arrested dozens of university students from inside the El-Fasher university campus, on Tuesday October 9, according to witnesses. They said the arrests happened during the second day of a sit-in organized by students and that the security forces fired in the air upon entering the campus to disperse the protesters. A student representative affirmed the arrests and shootings in the air by the security forces inside the campus to Radio Dabanga. He confirmed the arrest of eight students; Tasabeeh Sadiq Abdelrahman, Shazza Eissa Mahmoud, Awadia, Rania, Ibrahim Ishaq Kabour, Babiker Hassan Babiker, Moatassam Mohamed Idris and Bashir Mohamed Ahmed. Sources informed Radio Dabanga that, in the meantime, four of the detained students have been released by the NISS. The representative recounted that the students marched to the dean’s office to meet with the university director, but they did not succeed as they found his office’s door closed. Demands denied He said that the university administration issued a statement on Tuesday, rejecting all of the demands, which included to bring the accused rapist to trial, as well as to take measures to avoid repetition of assaults on students. In the statement, the university administration also refused to hold its guards accountable for failing to protect students from sexual abuse, he continued. The university also denied to provide free meals to students, to prevent security forces from accessing the campus wearing uniforms, to reinstate the El-Fasher University Union and to release the detained students, according to sources. The representative said the university refused to maintain the student dorms and build new rooms for all students, Radio Dabanga was informed. He added to Radio Dabanga that the sit-in will continue until their demands are met.Related content: El-Fasher students protest against violence (8 October 2012)