Three days after a rebel attack on the Sudanese capital

The Sudanese authorities have reacted to the attack of a rebel movement from Darfur on the capital of Khartoum with a new wave of arrests of Darfuris, reported the Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) on Tuesday. At least 46 Darfuris known by name -- among them above all members of the people of the Zaghawa -- were arrested since the attack last Saturday simply on account of their ethnic origin.

Among the 38 persons taken into custody on 11th May 2008 there were many students, said the human rights organisation. A further eight persons known by name were arrested on 12th May 2008 in Omdurman. It is to be feared that those in the custody of the security forces were tortured to find out possible accessories to the surprise attack.

One day before, on Whit Saturday, 10th May 2008, several hundred fighters of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) attacked the nearby capital city, Khartoum. Sudanese security forces managed to ward off the attack, but security circles in the Sudanese capital were completely taken back the attack of the JEM, which normally operates against government installations more than a thousand kilometres further to the west in Darfur.