Clashes between police, villagers in Sudan’s Hamadab Dam area
Nov 30, 2005 (KHARTOUM) — The tense and long crisis ridden Hamdab Dam affected areas exploded yesterday into wide scale violence after the security forces attacked villages in Sherri Island trying to arrest villagers representatives who delivered an ultimatum to the dam authorities to close down its offices.
The dam authorities, refusing to neither close down the offices nor negotiate with the people, rushed to reinforce its security forces bring huge number of forces from outside the area.
Eye witness say that upon arrival security forces set out searching houses and terrorising villagers.
The terrorized villagers gathered and scuffles broke out. Dam offices in the area were set alive and destroyed. Staffs and security forces hardly escape out of the island.
news from the Island report big demonstrations condemning dam authorities and its security forces are still continuing around the Island.
In what is believed to be a government response to the escalating events, unconfirmed report from Khartoum and Atbara say the government is dispatching three army battalions to the affected areas to be stationed in Al Kab, Sherri and Sani, in an attempt to bring the situation under control.
Observers say any armed conflict in northern Sudan will inevitably lead to division in the army Corp and it’s hard to predict its consequences having the current weakness of the army Corp and the wide spread tribalism among its ranks and files.
There is a wide spread wave of protest and mutiny in northern Sudan due to unlawful confiscation of land by dam authorities. Two month ago the dam authorities confiscated all agricultural land in the Northern State.
(ST)