Sudan medics accuse RSF of detaining families over army ties

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
Today 11:15

Sudanese rights and medical groups have accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of arbitrarily detaining civilians and prisoners in West Kordofan and Darfur under worsening humanitarian conditions.

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Sudanese who fled El Fasher city, after Sudan's paramilitary forces killed hundreds of people in the western Darfur region, crowd to receive food at their camp in Tawila, Sudan, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammed Abaker)

A Sudanese medical organization has accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of detaining several families in West Kordofan over alleged ties to the Sudanese army, amid escalating hostilities and reports of widespread abuses across the country.

In a statement released Tuesday, the Sudan Doctors' Union reported that seven families near the city of Babnousa were being held by the RSF after being accused of having relatives serving in the army.

The group condemned the detentions, describing them as “a clear violation of international humanitarian law and a breach of the principles of civilian protection during armed conflict.” It held the RSF “fully responsible for the safety of the detainees” and urged human rights and international organizations “to intervene immediately to secure their release and ensure that such violations against civilians in West Kordofan and throughout Sudan are not repeated.”

The RSF has not issued a response to the allegations.

Detention transfers

The accusations follow a similar report earlier the same day from Emergency Lawyers, a Sudanese rights group, which said the RSF had transferred hundreds of civilians and captured soldiers from El Fasher in North Darfur to detention centers in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, after taking control of the city. The organization described the act as “an arbitrary detention that violates international law and the principles of criminal justice.”

Emergency Lawyers said the prisoners were being held “in deteriorating health and humanitarian conditions,” and urged the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to intervene to ensure humane treatment and compliance with the Third Geneva Convention.

قوات الدعم السريع نفذت اعتقالات تعسفية للمدنيين والأسرى العسكريين من #الفاشر ونقلتهم إلى مدينة الخير الإصلاحية، وسط أوضاع صحية وإنسانية متدهورة أدت لوفاة بعض المحتجزين. #السودان #نيالا pic.twitter.com/3X2oG5Hfh9
— Emergency Lawyers (@EmergncyLawyers) November 11, 2025

Widening conflict

Both incidents come amid mounting concerns over RSF conduct in territories under its control, as the paramilitary group expands its grip across Sudan. The RSF’s recent capture of El-Fasher gave it control of all five Darfur states, while the army continues to hold most of the remaining 13 states, including Khartoum.

Meanwhile, fighting has intensified in North Kordofan, where El Obeid, one of Sudan’s key cities, has come under repeated drone and artillery attacks. Reports indicate that the RSF has targeted the city’s outskirts, while the Sudanese army claims to have intercepted several drone strikes. A recent drone attack on a funeral near El Obeid reportedly killed dozens of civilians, pointing to the rising toll of the conflict on non-combatants and the spread of violence beyond Darfur.

The war between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces, which erupted on April 15, 2023, has killed thousands and displaced millions, with mediation efforts failing to stop the fighting that now stretches from Darfur to Kordofan.