Khartoum students arrested at solidarity speech

A number of students were detained or injured in a raid by the security service, which used teargas to disperse a crowd of protesters in El Nilein University in Khartoum on Monday.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, several students said that a team of the Sudanese security service (NISS) stormed a crowd of students at the Faculty of Law of the University of El Nilein.

The students had announced to hold a speech there, gathering the Darfuri student associations, that would show their solidarity with the students of El Gezira University.

Witnesses reported that the agents beat the students with crutches and electric sticks that caused injuries. They arrested a number of people, who have not yet been identified by their fellow students.

The dormitory at the University of El Gezira witnessed clashes between students of the Faculty of Business Studies on Tuesday October 9. Students adhering to political opposition parties were allegedly attacked by student supporters of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP). They drove the NCP supporters from the boarding house. The following day, the faculty’s administration reported that angry students set fire to a number of facilities on the campus, a report that has been denied by students.

On Wednesday a court in Sudan’s El Gezira state sentenced two students to flogging and fines for public nuisance and threatening public safety.

Students from the Darfur region frequently experience discrimination at universities across Sudan, according to a report released this month by the Sudan Democracy First Group (SDFG). It researches and documents the extent and nature of the increasing violations against students from the Darfur region at Sudanese universities.