Umma Party to protest in Sudan after leader’s detained

The National Umma Party (NUP) will organise a protest against the detention of its leader Sadig El Mahdi who criticised paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for attacking villages in Darfur and the Nuba Mountains, and raping women.Security officers arrested the former prime minister of Sudan last night in presence of armed police. He is charged with ‘undermining the constitution’ and ‘opposing the regime’, the party confirmed. El Mahdi is held in Kober prison.El Mahdi’s spokesman, Mohamed Zaki, informed the press that his party will not continue with the national dialogue organised by President Omar El Bashir as long as their leader is under arrest. The party will mobilise its supporters to protest the detention. He considers the action as a serious provocation. Saturday, El Mahdi told his supporters that the government might face a popular uprising and a non-violent revolution, if the national dialogue fails.Last Thursday, the NUP leader was ordered to Sajana security office in Khartoum, and interrogated for half an hour to confirm his accusation about crimes against civilians by RSF. The same day the Sudanese Air Force bombed the central market of Fanga in East Jebel Marra, killing civilians. Citizens filed 200 cases against the RSF in El Obeid, and 20 cases in Abu Zabad.The paramilitary RSF are compiled of Janjaweed, fighters of the Popular Defence Forces, and new recruited troups. The RSF are directly commanded by the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS). On Saturday El Mahdi told a crowd of supporters in Gezira State that the national security is not allowed to run a complete army, and that the RSF are unconstitutional. The speaker of the parliament has accused El Mahdi of treason, a crime that can lead to capital punishment, his lawyer explained on Sunday morning.The National Dialogue is now on hold, after the armed opposition in Darfur and Kordofan, and the National Consensus Forces had declined an invitation to participate. Also the former presidential advisor Ghazi Salaheldin El Atabani is now warning for a further decline in the political stability.It is unclear what role president Omar Al Bashir plays in the current events. In a widely announced speech in January, he was expected to announce major reforms, but in fact no specific directions were given. He announced a ‘national dialogue’ to include all Sudanese polical forces, including armed movements.File photo: Protests against the questioning of Sadig El Mahdi on Thursday at the national security offices in Khartoum on ThursdayEl Mahdi questioned for condemning RSF attacks in Darfur (15 May 2014) Umma Party leader charged by Sudan security, SPLM-N warns of new militia recruits (14 May 2014)‘Sudan government destroyed social fabric in Darfur’: El Mahdi (18 March 2014)