Villagers detained, beaten in Kassala, eastern Sudan

Native administration leaders of the Beni Amer tribe in Kassala State, eastern Sudan, have accused the security forces of detainig and torturing 20 members of their tribe at Garma Garma village in Wad El Heleiw locality, south of Kassala town. A resident of Garma Garma village reported to Radio Dabanga that security forces cordoned-off the area last week. The forces denied entry to citizens from nearby villages who had to go to Garma Garma for the completion of their registration, needed to obtain a national number. “The incident was planned by the locality’s Commissioner with the aim of impeding the completion of the procedure for the registration of a national number. The security forces detained 20 people who wanted to enter Garma Garma. Most of them were released the same day, and referred to the police. Two villagers were kept detained for three days. They were severely beaten. The Commissioner of Wad El Heleiw locality, Osman Khalid Amara, denied any responsibility for the incident, saying that the people who were detained refused to obey orders from the security forces. The Commissioner also denied that people had been tortured. “If this did happen, it was for obstructing the work of the security services.” Sheikh Omar Saleh Omar, a notable of the Beni Amer tribe in Wad El Heleiw held the Commissioner and the security forces responsible for the detention of 20 people, including five women, and beating a number of them. File photo: Kassala town