Egyptian troops infringe on Sudan territory, abduct 41 miners: eyewitness
September 6, 2017 (EL-FASHER) – The Egyptian army on Sunday has infringed on the Sudanese territory in the Red Sea state and abducted 41 gold prospectors, a survivor told Sudan Tribune on Wednesday.
Multiple press reports said Egyptian troops have penetrated four kilometres into the Sudanese territory and chased Sudanese gold prospectors south of the disputed Halayb triangle, pointing they arrested 70 of them near Al-Alaki area in Abu Tebak valley.
Idris Hassan Bakhit, a resident of North Darfur state who survived the Egyptian raid told Sudan Tribune over the phone that the incident occurred last Sunday, saying 41 gold prospectors, mostly from Al-Lait Jar al-Nabi locality in North Darfur and the outskirts of El-Obied, capital of North Kordofan state, have been kidnapped by the Egyptian troops.
He stressed the Egyptian raid occurred inside the Sudanese territory, saying the gold prospectors were abducted from a gold mine owned by Ishag Adam al-Dooma which is located in Wadi Al-Alaki area, in the Red Sea state.
Bakhit pointed out that the gold prospectors came under heavy and indiscriminate fire from the Egyptian troops, saying dozens of them have fled to unknown areas inside the desert.
“We are now hiding [in an undisclosed area] for fear of the return of the Egyptian force once more … they abducted other gold prospectors from another mine in Wadi Al-Alaki,” he said.
According to Bakhit, the Egyptian force raided the mine again on Monday morning which prevented the gold prospectors from meeting a Sudanese force dispatched by the Red Sea state authorities after the miners contacted them via a satellite phone.
The list of names of the abductees from Al-Lait Jar al-Nabi locality received by Sudan Tribune includes: Masoum Ahmed Sharf al-Din, Kamal al-Fadil Mohamed, Mohamed Abdel-Rahman Nasr al-Din, Ibrahim Mohamed Ahmed Mohamadani, Al-Amin Adam al-Dooma, Al-Nour Adam Abdel-Aziz, Ali Osman Mohamed, Habib Sulieman, Ibrahim Adam, Mustafa Adam Yahia Mohamed, Ibrahim Sabeel, Nasir Ahmed Musa.
On the other hand, the list of names of the abductees from Dar Hamid, North Kordofan state includes: Gibril Guma’a Ahmed, Mohamed al-Zaytoon, Mohamed Siddiq, Al-Sir al-Hamri, Ahmed al-Rahel, Abdel-Jalil al-Rahel, Ibrahim al-Mardi, Mekki Abu Loga, Sulieman Ghaboush, Mubarak Abdallah, Al-Gaili Mohamed Ali, Ibrahim Mahmoud, Adam al-Fatih Osman, Abdel-Rahman Adam al-Mardi, Waqi Allah Adam Youssef, Hamid Balla Hamid, Abdel-Hafiz Hamid Balla, Mohamed Ismail Waqi Allah, Osman Mohamed Ehaimir, Al-Gaili Mustafa Al-Zubier, Al-Nour Atta Allah, Mohamed Waqi Allah Tirab, Essa Hassan Shigla, Guma’a Mohamed Abu Loga, Balla Obied Abdel-Wahid Ahmed and Akram al-Rahel.
In August 2015, Egyptian authorities released 37 Sudanese gold prospectors after being held for 5 months on charges of cross-border infiltration. But their properties estimated at eight million dollars are still held by the Egyptian Army.
The seized properties include metal detectors, GPS equipment, satellite phones, a number of sophisticated compasses, amounts of raw gold, 430 cars and generators.
Relations between Sudan and Egypt are strained due to the disputed Halayeb triangle, Sudan’s support to the Ethiopian dam, and the ban of Egyptian agricultural products.
(ST)