North Darfur student abducted in Kabkabiya

On Friday afternoon, militiamen abducted secondary school student Mohamed Suleiman Shareef (16) from his home in Kabkabiya, North Darfur.

A neighbour of the victim informed Radio Dabanga that a group of masked militiamen wearing military uniforms arrived at Kabkabiya’s Amiri district in a Land Cruiser mounted with a Dushka machinegun.

“They stormed the house of his family, seized him, and took him with them to an unknown destination without providing any reason.”

The witness added that some ‘brokers’ appeared in the neighbourhood after the abduction, who told the student’s relatives that they could arrange the release of Sharif for SDG25,000 ($4,100).

“They warned Shareef’s family that something could happen to him, should they refuse to pay the ransom.”

The people hold the North Darfur authorities responsible for the fate of the student, she said. “They have failed to contain the assaults and abuses by government-backed militiamen and Janjaweed. The situation is even getting worse each day.”

She referred to the seizure of 13 lorries and the capture of nine lorry drivers who refused to pay passage fees at a militia ‘toll gate’ near Kabkabiya last week. Only after the lorry owners had paid the sum of SDG44,000 ($7,140), the drivers, held by the militiamen within their houses, were released.

The residents of Kabkabiya strongly condemned “the silence of the authorities”.