A criminal detained by police authorities in East Darfur’s Ad Daein town has reportedly been released following the intervention of one of his relatives who is working with a government paramilitary organization.

The detainee was accused of holding a young man hostage along the Mujlad-Abu Jabra road and demanding 10,000 SDG as ransom in the month of Ramadan.

A local source told Radio Tamazuj the criminal was arrested in Abu Jabra locality after being tricked into coming to collect the ransom for the release of the hostage. The source explained that the detainee was later freed by one of his relatives serving in the Popular Defense Forces (PDF) in spite of procedures taken against the accused by a court.

In recent years, East Darfur State as been the scene of clashes between two feuding Arab tribes. Charges of favouritism toward one side or another by individuals within the government have been commonplace in this context.