High Red Sea officials arrested in Port Sudan

A number of high government and corporate officials in Port Sudan were arrested on charges of collaborating with foreign countries, sources say. The arrests seem to follow a conflict between the central government and the Governor of Red Sea state, another witness reported. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a source claimed that Ibrahim Mohamed Taher Eila, the son of the Governor of Red Sea state, Kamal Fathi, relations’ officer at the Seaports Corporation, and Emad Harun, a closely related person to the Governor, were accused of collaborating with one of the Arab countries and arrested last Thursday. He reported that the arrested further include the head of the union of youth of the Red Sea and ‘Oshi’, the director-general of the Ministry of Planning and Development of Red Sea. He added that the security service for the same reason also arrested an employee at the Seaports Corporation, an engineer at El Nasr Engineering Company, and an engineer in Port Sudan. Finally, Mamun Masud, owner of a travel agency, El Busairi, the owner of El Busairi Hotel in Port Sudan, a director of a shipping company, a driver at the Egyptian consulate, and a number of Sudanese workers at the Egyptian consulate, were also arrested, according to this source. “Khartoum sent a special security team to arrest the accused, and cooperated with state authorities. The arrested were then transferred to Khartoum.” Another informed source confirmed to Radio Dabanga that the arrests came against the backdrop of a conflict between the Sudanese central government and the Red Sea state and its Governor Mohamed Taher Eila. The government complained that Eila does not comply with orders and directives. Those arrested are from the inner circle of the Governor. “Signs of affluence appeared on them by running business companies that belong to Governor Eila,” the source said. File photo: Port Sudan (Wikimedia) Related: State Governor’s ‘inner circle’ arrested in Sudan (4 November 2014)