Protesters set fire to government office in Sudan’s Blue Nile
October 23, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – Protesters in the troubled Blue Nile region set fire to the government’s office in Ad Damzin on Sunday as others looted an arms depot in an unprecedented extension of the chaos in the region.
over 155 people were killed in tribal clashes in the Blue Nile region in recent days triggering protests against the SPLM-N Governor. On Friday, tribal leader Alobaid Abu Shotal gave the central government in Khartoum 48 hours to remove him from his position.
On Sunday afternoon, the protesters gathered again outside the state secretariat building before burning the building.
Meanwhile, other protesters organized a sit-in outside the command of the 4th Infantry Division of the Sudanese army where they handed over a memorandum demanding the dismissal of the region’s governor.
The Sudanese army spokesman, Nabil Abdallah, confirmed to Sudan Tribune the looting of one of the arms depots, adding that the military forces were chasing the groups that stormed the army command.
There are no further details from the army side about how such as attack took place.
For their part, the Resistance Committees in Ad Damazin issued a statement denouncing the intertie of the regular forces and called to exercise restraint and to end the inter-communal violence in the region.
New military commander
In response to the attack on the army command in Ad Damazin, the Commander-in-Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Sunday relieved the commander of the 4th Division and appointed Maj Gen Rabie Abdallah, as a commander of the Blue Nile Military Region.
Abdallah who is a holder of a PhD in conflict resolution was briefed about the security situation before heading to the region’s capital on Sunday.
Also, the army sent military reinforcements to the restive area in a bid de prevent further deterioration of the security situation.
The Hamaj tribal leadership accuse the SPLM-N leader Malik Agar and the Governor of backing the Hausa claim for the establishment of a tribal chiefdom in the region, a matter that they reject and describe as a “red line”.
(ST)