Name: Sudans RSF holding Darfur siege survivors for ransom, witnesses say
Uploaded: 2025-12-04T01:10:21.213Z
Duration: 3 min 31 s
Description: The Sudanese paramilitary force that besieged and then overran a city in Darfur in late October is systematically holding trapped residents for ransom, killing or beating those whose families cannot pay, witnesses, aid workers and researchers say.

The Sudanese paramilitary force that besieged and then overran a city in Darfur in late October is systematically holding trapped residents for ransom, killing or beating those whose families cannot pay, witnesses, aid workers and researchers say.

Darfur

Witnesses, aid workers, and former captives report that Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are detaining survivors in the Darfur city of al-Fashir and demanding ransoms for their release. Those unable to pay are reportedly subjected to violence, including killings and beatings, with some families paying up to $17,000 for release in a region already facing severe poverty.

The RSF has denied responsibility, attributing abuses to rival groups in disguise, while an RSF committee claims to be investigating numerous abuse cases. The capture of al-Fashir after an 18-month siege has intensified the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, with the UN describing it as the world's worst, and both warring sides facing accusations of war crimes.

Sudan's RSF holding Darfur siege survivors for ransom, witnesses say

Witnesses of the violence in the Darfur city of al-Fashir say the Sudanese paramilitary forces that overran the area are holding survivors for ransom. That's according to aid workers, researchers and 33 former captives, including those now displaced here in the town of Al Daba. Many told Reuters that those whose families can't pay are being killed or beaten. Reuters could not determine how many people are being held by the rapid support forces and allied militias around al-Fashir. However, Mohammed Adam says his son is among them. If I am displaced, where would I get money from? If you don't pay, they tell you, we will shoot him. Isn't this difficult? You don't have the money at all. It is very difficult. There are many who are held captive. More than a thousand persons are being held. It is very difficult. My son is being held. I don't know if he is alive or dead. Now my son, Abdel Motaleb Mohammed Adam Hamed, I don't know if he is alive or dead. Other survivors said they paid ransoms worth up to 17,000 U.S. dollars, a huge amount in an impoverished region. Eleven survivors told Reuters that those who could not pay were shot at close range or mowed down in groups, while others were badly beaten. I have my siblings. Four of them were killed. My son was injured, and we left him in al-Fashr. We don't know if he is alive or dead. Awasim spoke to Reuters after fleeing to the city of Tyne in Chad. My other brother was told to turn on his phone and call my cousin. He said, I need money for them to let me go. He said, how much? He said more than $6,000. He transferred it to him, and they let him go and dropped him off in Kutum. Survivors could not verify their accounts in full, however, they shed light on the risk for those who couldn't reach safety after the siege. Witnesses have also described mass reprisals, including summary executions and sexual violence since the RSF takeover. The RSF has frequently recruited fighters or militias on the promise of plunder rather than a stable salary, and there has been widespread looting in areas under RSF control. However, aid workers say ransom-seeking on the scale seen around al-Fashr is a newer phenomenon. Asked for comment, RSF legal adviser Mohamed Moukhtar said most cases of detention and extortion of people from al-Fashr have been carried out by a rival group whose members disguise themselves in RSF uniforms. The head of an RSF committee told Reuters it's investigating more than 100 cases of alleged abuse in al-Fashr daily, with a large number of suspects arrested and nine convicted. Al-Fashr's capture after an 18-month-long siege was a turning point in a war that erupted out of the power struggle between the RSF and Sudan's army. It has caused what the UN has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Both sides have been accused of war crimes. When the RSF seized al-Fashr, up to a quarter million people were estimated to have been living there. It tightened the group's grip on a place where the Arab-dominated force and its allies were blamed for mass killings against ethnic non-Arabs earlier in the conflict. An echo of the genocide in Darfur two decades ago.

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