Renewed objections to mining ops in South Kordofan

The residents of Delling in South Kordofan have renewed their rejection of the ongoing mining operations in the region and called on the companies to immediately leave.

On Thursday, a meeting was held in Delling under the leadership of Bagadi Hammad, the Nazir of El Hawazma who rejected the operations on the pretext that the region is for agriculture and pasture where the mining companies have not provided any services. Abdallah Abohum El Asha, one of the participants in the meeting, told Dabanga Radio that two months ago a Russian company came to run mining operations along the area north of Delling up to El Goz.

Prof Siddig Tawer, the scientific adviser to the National Committee for Environmental Protection, said that the Russian company is engaged in the field of uranium exploration, moving under military protection, preventing any people from approaching to know what they are doing on the ground.

Previously, Prof Tawer told Radio Dabanga: “There have been occurrences of women giving birth to deformed babies in El Tadamon and Abu Jubeiha localities. The latest case has been in Abu Jubeiha. This happens because of the use of cyanide.”

Tawer’s team, led by the Health Minister of South Kordofan, earlier investigated a reported increase in the number of miscarriages, the birth of deformed children, and cases of kidney failure in El Tadamon. These deteriorating health conditions are often attributed to the result of environmental pollution caused by the use of toxics by mining companies in the region.

five young men who were arrested a week ago against the backdrop of holding a symposium.

Arrests

A witness told Radio Dabanga that on August 18, members of the Sudanese security service (NISS) stormed a symposium held by youths in the town of Talodi. They staged the event to raise the residents’ awareness about the danger of cyanide, a chemical which is harmful to human and animal health. The detained youths were released last week.