Merchants protest detained commercial vehicles in South Darfur

Merchants and commercial vehicle owners set alight a station housing border guards in El Daein, South Darfur, to protest against the detention of 89 commercial vehicles loaded with goods on the way to South Sudan. A trader told Radio Dabanga that the vehicles were carrying batteries and other mechanical parts across Bahr Al Ghazal, as security authorities seized them. He said they were demanding the release of the vehicles, and as Saturday approached without a solution, traders took to burning down posts of the border guards and shutting down the main street leading to El Daein’s market.The police responded with tear gas and batons, and arrested seven vehicle owners in the demonstration.The police chief of El Daein, played down the size of demonstrations. In a press statement the chief said the city was experiencing calm conditions. He said the vehicles had been traveling towards the south carrying strategic goods, when authorities detected them, and prevented them from passing through the area.