Talodi, November 24 (Darfur24)
Police in Talodi, South Kordofan, have transferred a group of detained civil activists to the army’s 10th Division headquarters in Abu Jubeiha, days after arresting them for opposing the use of cyanide in gold mining, according to sources who spoke to Darfur24 on Sunday.
Security authorities in Talodi carried out a wave of arrests on November 8, 9, and 10, targeting activists involved in growing protests against cyanide use in local mining operations. Tensions have been rising in the region as residents denounce the environmental and health risks posed by the toxic chemical.
Sources said the police transferred the activists to military custody despite three criminal charges already filed against them under the Sudanese Criminal Code. The charges include Article 69 (disturbing public safety), Article 63 (opposing public authority with violence or criminal force), and Article 51 (inciting war against the state), which carries a maximum penalty of death.
The arrest campaign involved forces from the General Intelligence Service and Military Intelligence.
Reports were filed against ten activists: Khalid Omar Hussein, Issa Hammad, Muhammad Al-Mustafa Othman, Shawqi Al-Amin Kawil, Tariq Abdullah Abu-Fida, Muqaddam Abdul-Rahman, Jamal Hussein Abdul-Rahim, Al-Hajj Shantar, Omar Sharaf Al-Din, Sabir Haraz, and Nasr Al-Din Abdullah Al-Tijani.
According to the sources, the activists had taken part in mass demonstrations in Talodi condemning the continued use of cyanide in gold processing — a practice that has fueled months of public anger due to its severe environmental and health impacts.
On October 22, hundreds of residents marched through Talodi in one of the largest demonstrations to date, demanding an immediate halt to cyanide operations. Protesters then moved to the “basins” area at the Al-Kees mine north of the city, where they forcibly stopped work — a move widely described as a grassroots uprising against companies accused of “slowly killing people and the environment.”
The Al-Kees mine lies less than two kilometers from Talodi along the Talodi–Maflou road, heightening community fears about the spread of toxic pollution from cyanide-based extraction processes.