Zalingei medics beaten by Central Darfur police

The medical staff at the hospital of Zalingei, capital of Central Darfur, called an open-ended strike today in protest against police officers beating-up a number of doctors and hospital staff.

A medical staff member reported to Radio Dabanga that this morning, police in three vehicles, led by a captain and a lieutenant, arrived at the hospital with a policeman who had been injured in a traffic accident.

“After doctors thoroughly examined the injured policeman, they told his superiors that his condition was good enough for him to return home. They did not believe the doctors, however, and insisted that their colleague be admitted to a ward,” he related.

“The doctors refused, whereupon the police agents began to beat and kick them. When other hospital workers intervened, they were beaten too. The policemen then took two hospital workers to the police station, where they beat them again, before releasing them.”

The source said that the medical staff of the hospital handed a memorandum to the Central Darfur Minister of Health, demanding the arrest of the perpetrators and that they be brought to justice. They also called for the protection of the hospital personnel.

The doctors stressed in the memo that they will not return to work before their demands have been met.