KHARTOUM, Sudan
More than 215 civilians died at a prison run by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in South Darfur due to the spread of diseases and epidemics in less than two months, a Sudanese medical group said Wednesday.
In a statement, the Sudan Doctors Network said the deaths were reported inside Daqris Prison during May and June.
The deaths were caused by “the spread of diseases and epidemics, as well as torture and mistreatment of detainees, under detention conditions that lack even the most basic standards of healthcare and human dignity,” it added.
The group said 31 detainees, including children, were transferred to a hospital in Nyala more than two weeks ago despite showing no apparent illnesses.
“Their fate remains unknown amid growing fears about their safety,” it warned, citing reports that the RSF has been extracting blood from detainees to help treat its wounded fighters.
The network called for an immediate end to arbitrary detention, access for humanitarian and medical organizations to detention facilities, and disclosure of the fate of all detainees.
It urged the international community and human rights organizations to take urgent action to pressure RSF leaders to protect civilians and hold those responsible for violations accountable under international law.
Sudanese authorities and rights groups estimate that more than 19,000 military personnel and civilians, including children, are being held by the RSF in Darfur.
The Darfur region accounts for roughly one-fifth of Sudan’s total area of more than 1.8 million square kilometers, while most of the country’s 50 million people live in areas controlled by the army.
Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the army and the RSF over plans to integrate the paramilitary force into the military. The war has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, killing tens of thousands and displacing nearly 13 million.
