TAWILA, Sudan — Former detainees held by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have recounted harrowing accounts of torture, starvation, and mass deaths in detention centres in El-Fasher, as international investigators warn the conflict bears the “hallmarks of genocide.”
The testimonies, gathered from survivors who fled to the overcrowded refugee town of Tawila, paint a grim picture of life inside makeshift prisons allegedly run by RSF fighters following their October takeover of North Darfur’s capital.
Ibrahim Noureldin, 42, described being crammed into a sealed shipping container with more than 100 detainees, where suffocation, thirst, and hunger quickly turned deadly.
“When people died of thirst and hunger, we were beaten and forced to bury them outside,” he told AFP. “If we moved too slowly, they beat us with whips.”
According to findings by the United Nations Human Rights Office and the Centre for Information Resilience, the RSF has repurposed civilian infrastructure—including hospitals, schools, and warehouses—into a network of detention sites.
Shipping containers, described by survivors as “inescapable boxes,” were among the facilities used.
The RSF, which has been at war with the Sudanese army since April 2023, denies the allegations, calling them “propaganda” and accusing government forces of using civilians as human shields. However, both sides have faced repeated accusations of atrocities against civilians.
At one of the largest detention centres—El-Fasher Children’s Hospital—former detainees said conditions were catastrophic. Abdullah Idris, 45, said more than 2,000 men were held without adequate food or water.
“With nothing but saline solution to drink, I could only watch as dozens died every day,” he said.
The United Nations documented up to 40 deaths per day during a disease outbreak resembling cholera, with 260 fatalities recorded in a single week.
Survivors also detailed systematic torture. Ahmed Aman, 45, alleged that detainees had their fingernails torn out with pliers, while others were beaten, shot, or left to die for minor infractions.
“If you tried to speak, they’d kill you with a single shot,” Idris added.
Women detainees reported sexual violence and extortion. Nedal Yasser, 27, said she was detained for six weeks across multiple sites, beaten, interrogated, and subjected to harassment after her husband was identified as a soldier.
“We were exploited and sexually harassed… only sometimes allowed to go to the bathroom,” she said.
Yasser said detainees were ordered to pay ransoms of up to $2,000, despite having already lost their possessions to looting. After her release, she walked for days to reach Tawila, suffering a miscarriage along the way.
The UN has documented widespread “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment,” including flogging, suspension in painful positions, and sexual violence—acts that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity under international law.
The conflict in Sudan has displaced millions and devastated Darfur, a region already scarred by past atrocities. Investigators warn that the scale and pattern of abuses in El-Fasher—including mass detention, targeting based on identity, and systematic killings—reflect indicators associated with genocide.
Despite mounting evidence, access to El-Fasher remains severely restricted, with humanitarian agencies allowed only limited entry. Aid workers describe the city as a “ghost town,” cut off from communication and basic services.
For survivors now sheltering in Tawila’s makeshift camps, the physical and psychological scars remain profound.
“They would select people randomly, killing us like animals,” said Ahmed al-Sheikh, a former detainee who spent four months in RSF custody.
As calls grow for international accountability, the testimonies add urgency to demands for independent investigations and protection of civilians trapped in Sudan’s deepening war.
