One dead in Sudan student clashes


Written By Jane Njeri Thuo

In Africa,their is this one simmilarity that is usually experienced and its now like the norm - Election violence. This has been experienced time without numbers in most states including our very own country- Kenya. This violence is usually the genesis of citizen deaths and displacements of people from their homes.

This kind of violence was recently experienced in Sudan in the just ended elections which saw the incumbent President Omar al-Bashir recapture the seat. Their was clashes between his supporters and those of his competitor.

A man died after being injured in clashes between two groups of university students in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Wednesday, the interior ministry said in a statement. Violence erupted between students supporting the ruling National Congress Party and another group from Darfur who criticised recent elections won by President Omar al-Bashir, an eyewitness said.

"After a dispute between two groups of students from Sharq al-Nil University College, one of the groups attacked the other inside the university campus," the interior ministry said in a statement on its website.

Several people were hurt in the clash and one of those, Mohammed Awad, "was injured and transferred to a hospital, where he died," the statement said, without giving details about the deceased.

Police in Khartoum are investigating the clashes, the ministry said.

An eyewitness told AFP "students from Darfur were criticising the elections when students from the National Congress Party attacked them and there were clashes between them".

Several students were injured, including Awad, the witness added.

Bashir was re-elected on Monday with more than 94 percent of the vote, in an election that had faced international criticism even before it started. He is wanted by the International Criminal Court over war crimes in Darfur.

Ethnic insurgents mounted a campaign against Bashir's Arab-dominated government in 2003, complaining of their marginalisation.

More than 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million forced to flee their homes because of the conflict, the UN says.


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