CSW reports that Mr Elnour, who is also the volunteer Chair of the UK Sudan Advocacy Working Group, attended the demonstration, which the Darfur Associations organised in the UK in co-operation with a group known as ‘The Coalition of Honourable Sudanese’.
Mr Elnour, who CSW says is a respected member of the Sudanese community, was invited to address the crowd.
He reportedly condemned the RSF and its supporters, including the UAE, and highlighted the fact that the RSF is in reality the rebranded Janjaweed militia, which was responsible for the 2003-2005 Darfur genocide with the support of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) army, with which the group is now in conflict.
Mr Elnour’s criticism of the SAF is said to have prompted members of the crowd to chant the pro-SAF slogan ‘one nation one army’, while others surrounded him on stage, and the event organisers turned off his microphone.
As Elnour continued to address the crowd, a group of five men surrounded him. Several threw him to the ground, upon which he was punched and kicked by at least five people, including one woman who slapped him and called him “a dirty Janjaweed”.
After a section of the crowd intervened to stop the assault, Mr. Elnour reportedly returned to the stage and addressed the crowd once again, saying, “I know most of you in good faith think of eradicating the RSF first, but don't think opportunistically, like the opportunist politicians who agreed a power sharing deal with Burhan and Hemedti, who killed civilians at the sit in site in front of the army headquarters in 2019.”
After delivering his address, Mr Elnour reportedly left the stage and rejoined his family, who had witnessed the incident.
Police were called to the scene and requested that Mr Elnour and his family vacate the area for their safety. Officers also identified the individuals involved in the attack and escorted them away from the demonstration.
CSW reports that Mr Elnour was left with several injuries, including a deep cut to his left thumb, a hairline fracture to his right scaphoid, aggravated pain to pre-existing slipped discs in his back, whiplash, and temporary blurred vision in one eye from receiving several heavy blows to his head.
On November 30, the co-organisers of the event, the Darfur Diaspora Association, issued a statement condemning the attack on Mr Elnour.
