♦ This week’s news in brief ♦

A compact weekly digest of Dabanga Sudan's highlights of the news from Darfur and Sudan

♦ Kordofan student slain in students' election violence

April 19 – 2016 EL OBEID A student was shot and killed by other students at the University of Kordofan in El Obeid on Tuesday morning. Deans reported that more than 100 students went on a rampage in the campus, which has been ordered to be evacuated. The presentation of the candidate lists for the student council election sparked the fight between two student movements at the university.

Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that students who support the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) fired at members of the United Students Opposition, who were on their way to deliver the election list to the university centre. Abu Bakr Hashim, who studied in the first level at the Faculty of Engineering, was shot in the head. “More than 40 students were seriously injured. At least 20 students have been detained by intervening police,” a student said.

The deans of Kordofan University decided today that all buildings should be vacated and classes have been suspended. The situation in the capital city of North Kordofan remains tense and the evacuated students are gathering in front of the hospital. It is the second consecutive year that the student election at the university has ignited such violence.

More student protests

Relatives of detained students in Khartoum stormed the buildings of the Sudanese Security Service (NISS) on Friday to demand the release of their sons and daughters. The students had clashed for the second day in a row as they protested against the relocation of faculties to outside the city. A large number of students were detained or wounded. The Sudanese Council of Ministers has denied planning for the faculties to make way for tourist attractions.

University students staged several protests against last week's administrative referendum in Darfur. On Tuesday, water cannons ended a rally in El Nilein University. Two El Nilein students were detained for holding a public speech against the referendum on 12 April. Four students were detained in El Radoom in South Darfur when they organised a protest on Wednesday.

♦ East Darfur tensions: Six killed, Governor's house torched

April 19 – 2016 ED DAEIN / KHOR TAAN The house of the Governor of East Darfur was torched in an attack by gunmen which reportedly killed two civilians and four members of the security service on Sunday evening. The attack follows the killing of a number of tribesmen in clashes in Yassin locality.

Thirteen people are believed to have been killed in the clashes that involved armed members of the Rizeigat and Ma’aliya tribes in Khor Taan area on Sunday.

Witnesses in Ed Daein, the state capital, told Radio Dabanga that the attack on Governor Anas Omer’s house followed an accusation by tribesmen that Omer and the security service are responsible for Sunday’s events. “The situation is serious,” a witness in the city said. Video footage shows the flames rising from the Governor’s house and by-standers fleeing after hearing the sounds of gunfire.

Governor Omer has described the situation in Ed Daein as “being controlled” after the killings, the burning of his house and of one vehicle. On Monday, he said that the reasons for the incident go back to a clash between Rizeigat and a Ma’aliya rescue team, and is unrelated to the bloody clash on Sunday.

Meanwhile locals said that the situation has remained tense in East Darfur as both tribes have accused each other of launching the clash. Rizeigat and Ma’aliya youth groups have also exchanged accusations against each other.

Other highlights from Radio Dabanga:

‘Sudan forces defeated in Blue Nile, chopper downed in Kordofan’: rebels

April 19 – 2016 BAU / UM DORAIN The armed rebels in Blue Nile claim to have defeated Sudanese military forces in an attack in Alrom in Blue Nile on Monday, which ‘killed dozens of fighters’. In the Nuba Mountains, a Sudanese helicopter was downed on Sunday. The spokesman…

Sudan daily seized on consecutive days

April 18 – 2016 KHARTOUM Agents of Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) seized the print runs of El Sayha daily newspaper on Sunday, and then again on Monday, without giving any reasons. The newspaper, owned by El Tayeb Mustafa, the uncle of Sudan’s…

Sudanese refugees rally against Yida camp relocation

April 15 – 2016 UNITY / KURMUK Hundreds of refugees rallied in front of a UN agency in Unity state, South Sudan, against the planned shutdown of Yida camp on Thursday. Belatoma in Blue Nile was bombed on Monday. A witness said that the crowd protested at the doorstep…

NISS detains illustrator for mocking Darfur referendum

April 15 – 2016 FORO BARANGA / EL FASHER A man was arrested for drawing caricatures about the referendum in Darfur and taken to the NISS offices in West Darfur on Wednesday. The votes for the referendum, which ended on Wednesday, are being counted. The National Intelligence…

Displacement numbers in North Darfur expected to decline

April 14 – 2016 SORTONY / KASS The number of displaced people from Jebel Marra who have been sheltering in Sortony in North Darfur is expected to decline in the coming weeks. The latest registered population number in Sortony, near the base of Unamid, amounted to 68,000 people…

Darfur: Rebels remain defiant after loss of Sorrong

April 14 – 2016 SARRONG Abdel Wahid El Nur, head of a Sudan Liberation Movement faction, has acknowledged the SLM-AW’s loss of the Sarrong area in Darfur’s Jebel Marra, but stressed that the loss of the battle or the area does not mean the loss of the war. He added…

Disease kills five children in East Darfur

April 14 – 2016 EAST DARFUR Five children have died from viral infections and colds in the Jagara area of Sheiria locality in East Darfur. Medical sources told Radio Dabanga that emerging cases have been…

'Valid reasons for opposition to not sign AUHIP Roadmap': SDFG

April 13 – 2016 KHARTOUM Sudan Democracy First Group has accused African Union mediators of “hasting into enforcing partial agreements” following a consultative meeting between Khartoum and opposition forces, that has resulted in the partial signing of a roadmap…

Two raped at well in Darfur’s Jebel Marra

April 13 – 2016 JEBEL MARRA Militia members raped two women at Kenjara well in eastern Jebel Marra on Tuesday afternoon. A relative of the victims told Radio Dabanga that pro-government…

This digest is an excerpt from the weekly Darfur & Sudan News Update. Subscribe to the newsletter here