West Darfur cleric detained for second time

Security authorities in the West Darfur capital El Geneina arrested Muslim cleric, Sheikh Yousif Abdullah Abakar, for the second time last week. Witnesses say the Sheikh was transferred to Khartoum on Sunday.

The arrest of Sheikh Abakar follows a sermon he delivered on Eid Al Fitr which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

The sermon he delivered in El Geneina criticised the central and state governments’ performance and held them responsible morally, religiously and on a humanitarian level to protect the lives of Darfur people.

Residents and leaders in West Darfur called on the government to release him; saying that what the Sheikh has said was “nothing but the truth”.