PDF militia raids West Kordofan market

A contingent of the Popular Defence Forces (PDF) confiscated large quantities of foodstuffs, consumer goods, and cash from traders at the weekly Abujanok market of El Sunut locality in West Kordofan on Tuesday, under the pretext of enforcing permit regulations.

A witness told Radio Dabanga that on Tuesday afternoon a contingent of the Popular Defence Forces in five vehicles raided the market. They confiscated the goods saying that the owners had not obtained the required permits under the emergency measures in force in the state, which intend to curb smuggling. The also took SDG 100,000 ($15,000) in cash from one of the traders named Jamal Mustafa.

He called on the authorities to stop the violations and abuses by the PDF, considering that “the weekly market is frequently visited by people from neighbouring villages and has nothing to do with the so-called smuggling of consumer goods and foodstuffs”.

Police arrested 25 people on Tuesday in El Matamma locality in River Nile state on charges of obstructing the work of one of the machines of an investor working in the area.

An elder in the area told Radio Dabanga that the Popular Committeesin the southern countryside of El Matamma have submitted a petition to the locality’s prosecutor and commissioner to stop the machine, but they refused to accept the petition which prompted the residents to stop it themselves.