Security services in Kadugli in South Kordofan have summoned dozens of women to answer suspicions of ties to SPLM-North, sources told Radio Dabanga and Radio Tamazuj.

A first group of women was summoned on Saturday and held in detention throughout the day before being released that evening, locals told Radio Dabanga. The women were requested to return to the security offices the next day. 

Approximately 15 more women were called in on Sunday, and they returned home on Monday evening. The women’s families expressed their fear that they will be exposed to ill-treatment and torture in Kadugli.

The number of women arrested since Saturday reached about 100 yesterday, Radio Tamazuj reported, though more were released yesterday morning.  

It was also reported that many people fled the town after recent bombardments, turning Kadugli into a ‘ghost town.’ Witnesses who arrived to El-Obeid, South Kordofan, on Sunday explained that schools, shops, institutions and government facilities in Kadugli are all closed since last Wednesday. Additionally, national humanitarian organizations have left the city.

They disclosed said that residents fled the city by night after South Kordofan’s governor, Ahmed Haroun, issued a decision preventing people from leaving the city unless they obtain a special permit from the security services.

The witnesses added that the city is facing fuel and food shortages, adding that the public transport between Kadugli and Khartoum, via Dilling and El Obeid, has stopped completely.

The national humanitarian organizations said to have the city are the Red Crescent and the Islamic Da’wa organization, and the African Kuwaiti Muslim Committee.

The witnesses stated that the only possible way to reach Kadugli is by air or military convoy.