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Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces detain over 50,000 civilians in El Fasher — newspaper

Witnesses say that RSF members confiscated dozens of Starlink devices and mobile phones from the detained people

NAIROBI, November 10. /TASS/. Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are holding more than 50,000 civilians in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, preventing them from leaving the city, the Sudan Tribune newspaper reported.

According to the paper, people are being detained at several locations, including the port, a dormitory, El Fasher University, and a hospital. In addition, "thousands more are gathered in the town of Garni, which the RSF had previously designated as an assembly point for those fleeing the city."

Witnesses say that RSF members confiscated dozens of Starlink devices and mobile phones from the detained people.

El Fasher, besieged for about a year and a half, was captured by the Rapid Support Forces in late October. According to international humanitarian and rights organizations, mass civilian killings and ethnically motivated murders, as well as torture, rape and other crimes, took place during the attack. The International Organization for Migration says that over 80,000 people left the city in less than a week.

The situation in Sudan escalated in April 2023 amid disagreements between the army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who also heads the Sovereignty Council, and the head of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Clashes erupted in Khartoum and soon spread across the country, killing at least 40,000 people. About 12 million people had to flee their homes. The most difficult situation is in the Darfur and Kordofan regions, mostly controlled by the RSF.