Four armed robbers face amputation in Sudan’s western Darfur region

KHARTOUM, April 4 (AFP) — Four men convicted of armed robbery in Sudan’s war-torn western Darfur region have been sentenced to amputation of their right hands and left legs, a newspaper said Sunday.

The criminal court in Nyala, capital of South Darfur State, on Saturday found the four men guilty of robbing private vehicles in Ed-Dein district, south of Nyala, in March 2003, said the independent paper Akhbar Al-Youm.

The sentence was passed under the Islamic Sharia laws governing Sudan.

The newspaper did not say whether the crimes were linked to a rebellion that erupted in February last year by groups demanding an end to what they charge is government neglect of the impoverished region neighboring Chad.