Sudan Calls for Urgent International Intervention to Secure Release of Thousands of Detainees in Nyala and El Fasher

Washington – Sudanhorizon

Sudan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Al-Harith Idris, has called on the UN and the Security Council to urgently intervene and pressure the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia to release thousands of civilian detainees and prisoners of war, and to halt what he described as grave and systematic violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in detention facilities under its control in Darfur, particularly Dagrees Prison in Nyala, South Darfur, and Shalla Prison in El Fasher, North Darfur.

In a letter sent on Friday to the President and members of the UN Security Council, as well as the UN Secretary-General, Idris stated that the RSF is currently holding approximately 19,800 detainees and prisoners in Dagrees Prison.

According to the letter, the detainees include approximately 3,795 members of the Sudanese Armed Forces, 5,000 civilians from El Fasher, 4,270 police officers, 544 personnel from the General Intelligence Service, 73 medical workers, 5,434 civilians from various professions, and 690 women.

Regarding Shalla Prison, located west of El Fasher and reportedly used by the militia to detain large numbers of civilians and military personnel following its capture of the city on 26 October 2025, the letter stated that approximately 881 military prisoners and 407 civilian detainees are currently being held there. Among the civilian detainees are 113 children under the age of 18, some of whom suffer from chronic illnesses and have allegedly been denied appropriate medical treatment.

Idris cited reports indicating that most detainees in Shalla Prison are wounded civilians who sustained fractures and serious injuries as a result of indiscriminate shelling carried out by the militia against El Fasher. Many of them, he said, have received no medical treatment at all.

The letter described humanitarian and medical conditions inside Dagrees Prison as catastrophic, stating that the prison hospital lacks sufficient medical staff and essential supplies. It alleged that many detainees suffering from chronic illnesses have died as a result of medical neglect, while numerous survivors have become immobile due to deteriorating health conditions. Prison guards are reportedly preventing critically ill detainees from being transferred to outside medical facilities and restricting family visits.

The communication further alleged that detainees have been subjected to systematic torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, including verbal abuse, humiliating practices, severe beatings, electric shocks, and the extinguishing of cigarette butts on their bodies. These abuses are said to occur in conditions marked by extreme overcrowding, poor sanitation, inadequate access to clean water, and the spread of cholera and other infectious diseases.

The letter also referenced what it described as deeply concerning reports received by the Sudanese government regarding an organized human organ trafficking operation inside Dagrees Prison. According to the allegations, foreign medical personnel believed to be from Colombia and Serbia have been involved in harvesting organs from detainees. Victims allegedly include members of the Sudanese Armed Forces and Joint Forces who are taken under the pretext of release, transferred to foreign operatives working in Nyala, and subsequently killed and buried within the headquarters of the 16th Infantry Division in an effort to conceal evidence of the crimes.

Detainees in Dagrees Prison are also reportedly suffering from severe shortages of food and drinking water. In many cases, prisoners allegedly receive no more than a single meal per day. The letter claimed that more than four deaths occur each week due to starvation, illness, medical neglect, and the refusal to transfer critically ill patients to hospitals.

Concerning Shalla Prison, the letter stated that humanitarian conditions have reached catastrophic levels, with deaths occurring daily because of severe shortages of food, medicine, and healthcare services.

Reports cited in the letter indicated that approximately 300 wounded detainees died during the past two months alone due to infected wounds, untreated injuries, and severe infections resulting from the absence of medical care.

The letter further alleged that the militia leaves the bodies of deceased detainees inside the prison for extended periods in violation of human dignity, while prisoners themselves are forced to bury the dead in the prison’s western yard, approximately 400 meters from the facility.

It also reported that a cholera outbreak spread inside Shalla Prison beginning in February 2026, resulting in between five and ten deaths per week due to the disease and the absence of preventive and treatment measures.

The Sudanese government additionally reported allegations that the militia carried out field executions and large-scale killings of civilians under its control. According to the letter, 15 wounded civilians were recently executed inside Al-Rashid Dormitory at El Fasher University after being accused of affiliation with the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Joint Forces.

The letter stressed that conditions in both Dagrees and Shalla prisons constitute serious violations of international human rights law, international humanitarian law, and the fundamental protections afforded to civilians and prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions and customary international law.

It argued that the mass detention of civilians without legal basis, the detention of children, deprivation of food and medical care, torture and cruel treatment, the spread of disease amid severe overcrowding, deaths in custody, and allegations of organ trafficking and extrajudicial executions collectively amount to grave international crimes requiring urgent investigation and accountability.

The Sudanese government called on the UN Security Council, the UN Secretary-General, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Committee of the Red Cross, UN human rights mechanisms, and all relevant international bodies to strongly condemn the alleged violations committed by the RSF against detainees and prisoners of war in Dagrees and Shalla prisons. It also urged immediate and unrestricted access for independent international humanitarian and human rights organizations to all detention facilities under RSF control, the immediate release of all arbitrarily detained civilians, the provision of urgent humanitarian and medical assistance to detainees, and thorough investigations into allegations of torture, extrajudicial killings, organ trafficking, and other serious violations of international law, with full accountability for all perpetrators, organizers, and financiers of such crimes.

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