Sudan’s Juba University closed down

KHARTOUM, Aug 2 (AFP) — The Sudanese University of Juba has been closed down indefinitely due to student riots at the Kadaru campus on Thursday, the University director announced Saturday.

Opposition democratic alliance and southern students were blamed by police for riots during which fires were started, computer laboratories damaged and a number of lecturers and students held before riot police intervened to disperse rioters.

Police arrested 62 students while 15 were “slightly” injured on the campus, about 20 km to the north of the centre of Khartoum.

University director Babikir Ahmed Mohamed said the deans’ council had decided to suspend studies in faculties of Kadaru campus “indefinitely” for the “maintenance of stability”.

The University of Juba was moved from Juba in southern Sudan to Khartoum about 20 years ago for security reasons and has been set up in different parts of the capital.

The students were demanding immediate student union elections.

The director said the elections were originally scheduled for Saturday but were postponed by the electoral committee to an unspecified date until after the examinations and for completing the lists of the electorate.