‘More robberies of drugs in Darfur, Sudan’: Ministry

The Sudanese Ministry of Interior has revealed that the number of reports of armed robbery in the country has increased during the last three months, including 193 cases in Darfur. The Ministry announced that 4.7 tons of opium, 1.3 tons of ghat, and more than 2 million stimulant tablets have been confiscated. The session assigned to hear the statement of the Ministry of Interior witnessed a heated verbal argument between the Speaker of Parliament, El Fateh Ezzedin, and Darfur constituent MP Fatima Abdul Rahman. She accused the government of drug cultivation in Darfur, “so as to play the role of chasing criminals”. However, the Speaker of Parliament demanded the withdrawal of her accusation. “We do not allow cultivation of drugs and these accusations harm the national security.” Other MPs supported the statements made by Fatima Rahman. They also accused the authorities of allowing the cultivation of opium inside the Sudanese territory, and then playing the role of chasing the distributors and promoters. The MPs stressed the need for the extermination of opium farms. File photo: Ghat in Ethiopia (unknown)