Darfur News Update by Radio Dabanga (27 November- 3 December)
Two students killed in demonstrations
(By Radio Dabanga)
Three students were killed and twelve wounded Wednesday when police and security agents opened fire heavily on a crowd of protesters. One other student was stabbed by a member of the Central Reserve Police. Student protesters from the University of Zalingei had surrounded the hall where the international mediators of the Darfur conflict were meeting. The mediation team includes the Qatari Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud and United Nations – African Union Joint Representative Djibril Bassolé.
The unrest erupted after the mobilizations of student loyalists to the National Congress Party (NCP), who gathered in support of the mediators. They carried banners and chanted slogans against key rebel demands. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that opposition students mobilized themselves and clashed with the students of the NCP, forcing them to withdraw. The opposition students then surrounded the hall and began chanting against Bassolé, whom they described as ‘cowardly.’ They chanted slogans in favor of one Darfur province and in favor of Luis Moreno Ocampo, the international prosecutor who alleges genocide was committed in Darfur. At the same time the students criticized the mediators for not involving them in the consultative meeting. Bassolé spoke with the students through a sound system but he could not convince the students and they continued shouting. Bassolé and the other mediators where withdrawn from the spot. After the mediators were gone security agents opened the fire on the crowd. Witnesses said some protesters were arrested, but they could not describe how many or whom.. The situation in Zalingei on Thursday, the day after the events, was described as calm. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for an inquiry into the events.
Read the whole story:
Two students killed demonstrating against ‘coward’ Darfur mediator
Zalingei police pursue student protesters after shooting 2 dead
Radio Dabanga also reported on the following topics:
Minawi’s forces declared as hostile, Transitional Authority funds frozen
KHARTOUM/JUBA (3 Dec.) - The armed forces announced that the ex-rebel forces of Minni Minawi have once again become hostile forces, according to remarks by the military spokesman Al Sowarmi Khalid Saad printed in Khartoum newspapers yesterday.
Bashir cancels trip to C. Africa after ICC judges demand his arrest
KHARTOUM (2 Dec.) - President Omar Al Bashir canceled a trip to Central African Republic after the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) demanded that authorities there arrest him on arrival. The development, which follows a snub of Bashir by Libya, highlights the increasing isolation of the Sudanese leader.
http://www.radiodabanga.org/node/6605
Youth suicides reported at Sudanese refugee camp in Chad
DJABAL CAMP (30 Nov.) - There is increased incidence of suicide among the youth at Djabal Camp for Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad. One refugee at the camp said he recorded five cases of suicide this year, and explained that most suicides were between 18 and 25 years old.
LJM clashes with Janjaweed in West Darfur
By Radio Dabanga – MUKJAR (30 Nov.) - The Liberation and Justice Movement announced that it captured 14 Janjaweed militiamen after a clash in Salga in Mukjar Locality of West Darfur. The field commander of the Liberation and Justice Movement Mukhtar Abdelrahman Al Nur said they clashed Sunday with the Janjaweed in the area.
Livestock blamed for damage to farms in Wadi Bari, N. Darfur
KEBKABIYA (29 Nov.) - Citizens in Kabkabiya complained that herders grazed their livestock on farms, destroying them. The damage to the farms could lead to friction with dire consequences, farmers said.
Three refugees raped near Abu Nabag Camp in eastern Chad
ABU NABAG (29 Nov.) - Armed men on camels raped three girls in Abu Nabag camp for refugees in eastern Chad. A source told Radio Dabanga that the three girls went out to collect firewood near the camp and were threatened with weapons near the camp and then raped.
