Minawi Appeals to ICRC to Rescue Thousands Detained in Militia Prisons

Governor of the Darfur Region Minni Arko Minnawi has called on the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric, to intensify efforts to access prisons and detainees held by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, including those who have been forcibly disappeared.

The RSF reportedly detains tens of thousands of military and civilian prisoners, particularly at Dagriss Prison near Nyala in South Darfur, where reports indicate dozens have died due to torture, starvation, and lack of medical care.

Minnawi and Spoljaric discussed RSF violations against civilians and the resulting humanitarian crisis, urging the ICRC to step up medical support for war-wounded individuals. He briefed Spoljaric on Sudan’s humanitarian situation, noting that the country faces the world’s largest displacement crisis caused by the RSF’s systematic forced displacement aimed at altering demographics, particularly in Darfur.

He highlighted that Al-Fashir in North Darfur remains in a critical state under RSF militia control, with restricted humanitarian access, severe shortages of food, medicine, and water, and a collapse of health services.