Medical Charity: 2,377 People, Including Children and Women,Currently Detained By RSF in El Fasher

Sudanhorizon – Agencies
A report prepared by a team from the Sudanese Doctors Network, published Monday , on the situation in El Fasher, North Darfur State, covering the period from January to April, six months after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia stormed the city, has unveiled dire humanitarian and health conditions.
The report also detailed the detention of thousands of civilians, including children and women, among them doctors. The RSF is reportedly committing grave human rights abuses within its detention centers, including torture, interrogation, and ethnically motivated killings.
The military operations that accompanied the city’s capture resulted in a large number of civilian casualties due to indiscriminate shelling and the direct targeting of residential neighborhoods. This led to widespread massacres following the city’s fall, resulting in a surge in the number of people with serious injuries amidst a near-total collapse of health services and the inability of medical facilities to respond. Conditions deteriorated further within the detention centers established or used after the city’s capture, where hundreds of civilians and military personnel were held in harsh conditions, according to the report.
According to data obtained by the network’s team, the Rapid Support Forces are currently holding 907 military prisoners and approximately 1,470 civilian detainees, including 426 children and 370 women. These detainees are distributed across several locations, including Shala Prison, service facilities such as the Children’s Hospital and the land port, in addition to others being held inside shipping containers.
Survivors told the network’s team that detainees are subjected to grave violations, including extrajudicial killings. Sixteen civilians were killed inside the Al-Rashid dormitories at Al-Fashir University last February, based on their ethnicity, after being accused of belonging to the security forces. The majority of detainees also suffer from injuries sustained during the bombings and are not receiving necessary medical care.
On the health front, the detention centers have witnessed a widespread cholera outbreak since the beginning of February, due to the lack of prevention and treatment. This has led to weekly deaths ranging from five to ten, bringing the total number of deaths to over 300 in two months. The deteriorating environmental conditions, lack of clean water, and malnutrition have contributed to the spread of diseases and the infection of wounds. According to the report, the situation is further exacerbated by the fact that bodies are left in detention facilities for extended periods before being forcibly buried by detainees.
The health sector is suffering from a severe shortage of personnel. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have detained a number of doctors (22), including four women, in extremely difficult conditions with a severe shortage of medical supplies. Those detained also face acute shortages of food and drinking water, with deaths being recorded daily.
The report reflects a clear link between the violence that accompanied the city’s invasion and the subsequent collapse of the humanitarian and health situation. The massacres and direct targeting of civilians led to widespread arrests and inhumane detention conditions, exacerbating the health catastrophe within the city. This indicates a critical humanitarian situation in El Fasher that requires urgent intervention to stop the violations, release the detained innocent civilians, provide basic health services, and guarantee the protection of those remaining in the city.

Shortlink: https://sudanhorizon.com/?p=13275