Number of abductees in El-Fashir rises to 50, most of them women and children

Survivors abducted by militias revealed on Monday that the number of abductees from Abu Shouk camp, north of El-Fashir, has risen to more than 50, the majority of whom are women and children.

Local reports indicated, earlier this week, that the militia abducted women and their children while invading some areas of the Abu Shouk camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Three survivors told Darfur 24 that “there is a house in the Riyadh neighborhood, northeast of El-Fashir, where more than 50 abductees from Abu Shouk camp, the majority of whom are women and children, are being held.”

A survivor stated that militia members released her and three others after they were abducted from Abu Shouk camp on Saturday. They were taken to an unknown location after their faces were bound.

She explained that she was released after complaining that her son, who had been injured by artillery shelling, was abandoned while receiving treatment in a hospital.

The survivor indicated that the militia had used a house in the Riyadh neighborhood, northeast of El-Fashir, as a center for gathering the abductees, under the pretext of trying to rescue them from the grip of the army and the joint force of armed movements. She explained that the militia elements pledged to transport the abductees to safe areas under their control in North Darfur.

Another survivor stated that she was released after being abducted with two of her children last Friday, following her pledge to return to retrieve her daughter.

She added, “The number of abductees in that house exceeded 50, the majority of whom were women, children, and some elderly.”

In the same context, another survivor said that the militia released him after his health deteriorated, indicating that some of the abductees had chronic illnesses.