South Kordofan rebels accuse army of licensing foreign gold traders

Gold mining licenses are being granted in Rashad and El Abassiya in South Kordofan to traders from outside the region, the armed rebels in the state reported.

Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) leader in the rebel-hold El Abassiya, Mohamed Khalifa, told Radio Dabanga that military authorities in the region have been granting mining licenses to foreign gold traders.

Newcomers, in cooperation with the authorities, are extracting large quantities of gold in lands that belong to the indigenous population, who have been forced to move after last year’s military operations at Abu Karshola in Rashad locality.

Government authorities in Rashad, Khalifa claimed, grant mining licenses to the newcomers.. They transport the traders with military vehicles to mining areas in Karnak.

In December last year, activists from North Kordofan attempted to hand a memorandum to the commissioner of Sudari locality, opposing the confiscation of lands owned by North Kordofanis by a number of gold exploration companies, without any form of compensation.

Related:

Sudanese protest against gold exploration quelled (1 December 2015)

SPLM-North kills 10 gold miners in Kordofan (9 September 2015)