Outlaw RSF Militias kidnap civilians in Sudan and release them in exchange for paying (ransom)

Investigation: Hanan Kisha

An investigative report conducted by the Sudanese Echoes revealed tragic incidents of organized kidnappings of civilians carried out by the insurgent Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Militia in a number of Sudanese cities to take ransom in exchange for releasing the kidnapped. The value of the ransom ranges between (12 million and 3 million Sudanese pounds), approximately 4 thousand dollars and 1000 US dollars.

A survivor of a mass execution in West Darfur State, the city of Al-Geneina, revealed that the outlaw RSF militia kidnapped a two-year-old girl and released her in exchange for (ransom).

A report issued by the Sudanese Group for Victims of Enforced Disappearance entitled (The Bermuda Triangle is Expanding…Cities in War: Those Inward Are Missing and Those Outward Are Born), also, revealed that the number of people who have disappeared since the start of the war on April 15, 2023, until April 15, 2024, has reached (1,141) persons, including (998) adult males, (20) minor males, (116) adult females, and (7) minor females.

The report underlined that the insurgent Rapid Support Forces arrest civilians, hide them, and then demand ransoms from their families in exchange for their release, sometimes equivalent to $4000.

The (Bermuda Triangle) report was prepared by observers from the group, who brought the facts from their reliable sources after communicating with a number of victims’ families, in addition to conducting interviews with a number of survivors. The former judge and legal advisor to international organizations, Dr. Omar Kabashi, affirmed to Sudanese Echoes that all crimes committed by the outlaw RSF Militia fall within Chapter 18 of the Sudanese Criminal Code of 1991. These crimes are classified as crimes against humanity, crimes of genocide, war crimes against property and other rights, war crimes related to prohibited methods of fighting, and war crimes. He explained that the penalty for these crimes is death or life imprisonment.