Northern Sudan herb vendors face ‘insults, racist abuse’ in market dispute

Herb and spice vendors in New Halfa in Sudan’s Kassala locality have accused influential figures of obstructing the commissioner’s decision to assign a temporary headquarters for them after demolition of the old herb and spice market.

One of the herb vendors told Radio Dabanga that the locality commissioner had allocated them the old butchery as a temporary site until permanent premises could be arranged, but one of the influential members of the ruling National Congress Party stopped the procedure and “used verbal and racist abusive words”.

The vendors announced their adherence to their right to the temporary headquarters, and said that they are in the process of filing a complaint about the insults and racial slurs.