Darfuri students attacked again in Omdurman, Sudan

On Sunday, Darfuri students at the Omdurman El Ahliya University were attacked again by militant student members of the Sudanese ruling party. 11 students were injured.

About 815 Darfuri students have been evicted from dormitories in Khartoum and Dongola.

In Canada, members of the Sudanese opposition are staging a sit-in in protest against the attacks.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, Hasabelnabi Mahmoud El Amin, Secretary-General of the Darfuri Students Association (DSA) branch of the Omdurman El Ahliya University, reported that students of the National Congress Party (NCP), armed with metal bars and machetes, and backed by a joint police and security force, again attacked a number of Darfuri students at the campus.

“The Darfuris were preparing their exams at the DSA office at the university,” he said. ““At least 11 students were wounded. The attackers then expelled all the other students from the campus.”

The “hate campaign” against Darfur students intensified after the death of a senior member of the NCP student wing at Sharg El Nil College in Khartoum on 29 April.

According to reports, a group of 150 militant NCP students attacked a number of Darfuri students, who were having a meeting of the Darfur Student Association at the campus. In the ensuing clashes, the NCP student was killed.

In the following weeks, many Darfuris studying at universities in Sudan’s capital were assaulted and detained.

Evictions, detentions

A student activist told Radio Dabanga on Sunday that 815 students have been forcefully evicted from boarding houses in Khartoum, and in Dongola, northern Sudan. Five dormitories were torched.

Since 29 April, 230 Darfuri students were injured, and more than 200 disappeared. 33 students from the war-torn western region are held in custody, and 45 have been subjected to torture.

157 were released on bail after having been charged with various crimes. Five students are held on charges of murdering the NCP student on 29 April. Among them is Mohamed Baggari, who was brought before a judge in Khartoum North on 14 May, without a defence lawyer present.

Sit-in

In Calgary, Canada, members of the Sudanese Opposition Alliance for Regime Change launched a peaceful protest in front of the City Hall on 17 May, demanding the cessation of the attacks on Darfuri students at Sudanese universities.

During the sit-in, continuing until today, the protesters presented photos of the victims and documents showing how NCP students threatened to set fire to Darfuri students inside the dormitories.

The protesters collected signatures for a petition to be submitted to the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, requesting the Canadian government to intervene, and urge the Sudanese authorities to halt the aggression against Darfuri students.