The Sudan Doctors Network warned on Thursday of worsening health and humanitarian conditions for more than 6,500 people held by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, citing food shortages and an increase in daily deaths.
The independent medical group said in a statement seen by Radio Tamazuj that it had received reliable information indicating that the detainees included military personnel and civilians, among them 709 women and about 500 children under the age of 18.
The detention sites include the former headquarters of the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), the headquarters of the 15th Infantry Division and Ardamata Prison, the network said.
It warned that food shortages and deteriorating health conditions at the facilities pose serious risks to detainees, particularly women and children.
The network said daily deaths had increased compared with the same period last year, calling for urgent investigations to establish the causes and ensure detainees had access to adequate food and medical care.
It urged the relevant authorities to provide sufficient food, safe drinking water and healthcare, and to allow independent medical and humanitarian organisations access to the facilities to assess conditions.
The group also called for the disclosure of detainees’ whereabouts and fate, protection against torture and other forms of ill-treatment, and safeguards for women and children. It further urged investigations into deaths in custody and accountability for substantiated violations.
The RSF did not immediately comment on the allegations.
In June, Sudan submitted a memorandum to the United Nations Security Council seeking urgent intervention over what it described as “grave and systematic violations of international humanitarian law” against thousands of civilians and prisoners of war in RSF-controlled detention centres in Darfur.
The RSF controls all five states in Darfur, western Sudan, although the army retains control of parts of North and West Darfur. The army controls most of the country’s remaining states, including the capital, Khartoum.
Sudan has been at war since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the army and the RSF following a breakdown in negotiations over the integration of the paramilitary force into the regular military. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions, fuelling famine and one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
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