North Darfur displaced detained without charge or trial for five months

The youths of Sortony camp in North Darfur have demanded the release of 20 detainees from Shala prison in El Fasher or be taken to a fair trial after being held for nearly five months.

On Friday, the youths of the camp said in a statement that El Sadig Fakkah's forces who signed a peace agreement with the government last August, arrested 20 of the camp’s displaced people and moved them to Shala prison in El Fasher with no charges filed against them. They have also not been brought to trial.

The detainees include three teachers and five secondary school students, who are accused of being affiliated with the Sudan Liberation Movement under the leadership of Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW).

El Sadig Fakka group consists of a number of rebel combatants who recently split from the SLM-AW, the camp sheikh explained. “We think they wanted to prove their loyalty to the authorities by accusing the displaced in Sortony of supporting the rebels.”

The youths have appealed to human rights monitors to intervene to release the detainees.