the Sudanese Doctors’ Network revealed that Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are detaining more than 19,000 people in prisons and detention sites across Darfur under “harsh and deadly” conditions threatening thousands of lives.
Widespread Detentions and Field Documentation
According to field reports from Nyala, the capital of South Darfur under RSF control, the situation inside Dagaris and Kober prisons as well as several other RSF-run detention centers has deteriorated to what observers describe as “slow-death zones,” marked by overcrowding, disease, and the absence of basic healthcare.
Figures obtained by the network indicate that detainees include members of regular forces 4,270 from the unified police, 544 from the intelligence service, and 3,795 from the Sudanese army alongside about 5,000 detainees from El-Fasher and members of pro-army paramilitaries, in addition to thousands of civilians, professionals, and political activists.
The report states that the RSF has carried out a broad campaign of arrests since mid-year, targeting security personnel, civic workers, and journalists. Many, it says, are being held without due process or access to legal or humanitarian aid.
Health System Collapse and Neglect Accusations
The network documented 5,434 civilian detainees, including 73 medical professionals, enduring dire conditions within overcrowded facilities. Poor sanitation, lack of ventilation, and absence of medical isolation have led to the spread of contagious diseases and confirmed cholera outbreaks, causing at least four deaths weekly due to neglected medical care.
The prisons face acute shortages of medicine, food, and clean water, compounded by the absence of qualified healthcare staff or emergency transport for critical cases. The network described the detention centers as “ticking health time bombs.”
The doctors’ association urged the United Nations and international humanitarian organizations to pressure RSF leadership to release civilian detainees, ensure medical care, and publish official lists of those held to enable contact with their families. It also called for an end to arbitrary arrests and for immediate improvements in prison conditions.
Official Sudanese Response: “Foreign-Backed Aggression”
The network’s report coincided with the International Human Rights Day, during which Justice Minister and head of the National Human Rights Mechanism, Abdullah Dirf, accused the government of Abu Dhabi of supporting what he described as “an assault that caused grave violations against unarmed civilians witnessed by the world.”
Speaking in Khartoum, Dirf said the Sudanese Armed Forces and allied units were “fighting to defend the nation and the dignity of its people against terrorist militias and mercenaries whose only project is destruction and death.”
He added that the Ministry of Justice functions as a legal and moral shield, working to document violations, submit them to national and international forums, and pursue perpetrators in both domestic and international courts—including external supporters of militias.
He stressed that protecting victims and providing psychological and legal support—especially for women, children, and the elderly—remain top priorities, asserting that “law remains the strongest response to terrorism.”
Victory, he said, “will come when all perpetrators are brought to justice in reparation for victims and in the pursuit of a state governed by law.”
Diplomatic Push at the United Nations
In parallel, Sudan’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York participated in a high-level meeting commemorating victims of genocide.
Sudanese envoy Minister Plenipotentiary Faisal Abdel Azim Salim presented a statement accusing the RSF of committing “heinous crimes against civilians in Darfur amounting to genocide,” urging the international community to take decisive legal and humanitarian measures to protect civilians.
Salim called for a halt to all military support channeled toward the RSF, the imposition of sanctions on financiers and perpetrators of atrocities, and a coordinated international effort to block the flow of weapons to armed groups.
He also referred to the National Plan for Civilian Protection submitted by the Sudanese government to the UN Security Council, reaffirming Sudan’s readiness to cooperate with global partners “in accordance with national sovereignty and the UN Charter.”
Darfur Between Tragedy and Accountability
The unfolding situation comes amid widening violence and mass detentions across Darfur, where the RSF has extended control over major towns and provinces.
While human rights groups warn of “an escalating humanitarian catastrophe,” Sudanese officials frame the conflict as a defensive struggle against a “foreign-backed disintegration project.”
Between the mounting human toll and calls for justice, Darfur stands at the intersection of tragedy and accountability, awaiting decisive international action to avert what could become one of the largest detention and abuse crises in Sudan’s modern history.
