North Darfur security detains 17 teachers

The security service detained seventeen teachers who attended a state teachers' union meeting in El Fasher locality, North Darfur, on Thursday, and forced several to sign a declaration stating they will not participate in any gathering again.

Mohamed Saleh El Maki, the head of the teachers in basic and higher secondary stage in the locality, told Radio Dabanga that the group was in one of the schools for a coordination meeting that discussed election procedures. “The gathering had nothing to do with politics,” he claimed.

Members of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) arrived and detained the teachers, including six women, who have all been elected to the state teachers' union.

“The NISS released the women again after forcing us to sign a written approval that states we will not participate in any gathering again,” one of the women said. “The men are still detained and we know nothing about their fate.”

It is worth noting that the term of the state teachers' union has come to an end. Several teachers said that the government wants to form a union by electing people who are not familiar with the basic teachers’ issues, but would be “an obedient tool”.