The intelligence unit of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) Sixth Infantry Division in North Darfur State, in collaboration with allied armed movements, arrested two Al-Fasher University professors and detained several unarmed civilians in army-controlled areas on suspicion of supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Among those arrested were Professor Abdullah Musa Yagoub, the Director of Al-Fasher University who is a Professor of Islamic Creed and Contemporary Sects. He was arrested, his head hooded, and transported in an open vehicle.
The academic was released after his phone was perused and the mosque where he leads prayers was searched.
The same group also arrested Dr. Eissa Dawood, the Head of the Center for Preaching, Guidance, and Reconciliation at Al-Fasher University, who is also the preacher at Sultan Mosque and Imam of the Ancient Al-Fasher Mosque, on allegations that RSF elements were present in the mosque.
Professor Abdullah Musa Yaqoub, speaking at one of the mosques in Al-Fasher city after Friday prayers, said his arrest was based on information and a report alleging the presence of RSF snipers in the mosque where he leads prayers. This prompted the military intelligence and allied armed movements to move on to the mosque.
“When they arrived, they fired shots at the mosque’s minaret and then demanded that the minaret door be opened to search for a sniper supposedly stationed there,” he recounted. “After searching the mosque, they asked me to accompany them to the anti-aircraft headquarters. There, they searched my phone and found nothing incriminating, so they released me shortly after, stating that the arrest was for my protection.”
He lauded the SAF, the armed struggle movements allied to them, and the mobilized forces for protecting Al-Fasher.
Prof. Musa justified his arrest, citing the operational circumstances in Al-Fasher, and affirmed the security agencies’ right to pursue suspects to verify the information they receive.