Security and police forces have beaten and arrested a number of youths in a village north of Berber, River Nile, on Tuesday, following an attempt to change the flow of a nearby canal. They have also used tear gas against the villagers, a witness said.
One of the residents of El Hafab told Radio Dabanga that security forces besieged them because the residents of the neighbouring El Asaiyab village began to move a canal from the direction of El Asaiyab to the direction of El Hafab. By doing so, they hoped to prevent the canal from flooding their valley during the current rainy season, the listener explained. They brought security and police forces, riding in vehicles mounted with Dushka machine guns on top, with them when people in El Hafab refused the moving.
The police then beat and arrested several youth of El Hafab and brought them to Berber and Atbara towns. The resident said that the village was besieged, the electricity was cut, and a curfew was imposed from Tuesday until Thursday. “The police's raiding of El Hafab and the use of tear gas caused panic amongst the villagers,” the witness added.
The people of El Asaiyab, located in a valley, suffered a lot from the flooding of the canal in the past, the resident of El Hafab explained. In August this year, the federal Ministry of Health, along with several humanitarian organisations, reported that the River Nile was one of the states hit hardest by the heavy rains and floods. The Nile reached critical flooding levels at the time.
File photo: Flooded town in River Nile state (Sudanradio.info)