RSF Militia Detain Youths and Patients, Block Travel to Government-Held Areas

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia has detained hundreds of civilians traveling from Darfur in the Um Badir area of North Kordofan State, preventing families and patients from continuing their journey to Al-Dabba in Northern State, which is under the control of the Sudanese army.

Salwa Mohamed Noor, one of hundreds of families held by the militia in the town of Um Badir, recounted a harrowing ordeal after spending more than two weeks alongside hundreds of other families detained on the Um Badir–Al-Dabba road.

Speaking to Darfur24, Salwa said she was traveling to Al-Dabba with her mother, who suffers complications from diabetes, after losing hope of obtaining treatment inside Darfur’s cities. She said they were shocked when they were barred from continuing their journey and forcibly detained in an area near Um Badir, unable either to proceed or to return to Al-Daein.

Salwa added that one RSF group demanded one million Sudanese pounds to exempt them, but after the amount was transferred they were detained again by another group, which confiscated their mobile phones.

She said most of the detainees are patients and students seeking to continue their education, noting that deaths are being recorded daily among sick travelers due to the prolonged detention, in addition to the depletion of the money they were carrying.

In a related development, a driver from Al-Daein in East Darfur said three vehicles carrying 30 passengers were forced to return to Adila from the Um Badir area after traveling hundreds of kilometers, while about 55 vehicles remain detained.

The driver’s account was corroborated by testimonies from travelers who reached East Darfur from Al-Dabba, confirming that dozens of vehicles are being held in Al-Na‘eim, Um Badir, and Al-Manjam areas. Passengers, they said, have spent weeks suffering from illness and hunger while awaiting a militia decision to exempt medical cases.

Meanwhile, citizen Noor Al-Din Ahmed told Darfur24 that he has lost contact with his wife, daughter, and daughter-in-law, who were traveling to Al-Dabba two weeks ago for education purposes and to obtain official documents.