RSF Release Nine Medical Workers in South Darfur

20 December 2025

Satellite photo of Kober prison, Nyala, on July 17, 2023, Maxar Technologies photo

December 20, 2025 (NYALA) – The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have released nine medical workers from the Digris and Kober prisons in South Darfur, the Sudanese Doctors Network said on Saturday.

The release comes after the World Health Organization expressed concern on Dec. 16 over reports that 70 healthcare workers and 5,000 civilians were being forcibly detained in Nyala, the state capital.

“The forces in charge of guarding Digris and Kober prisons released nine medical staff out of a total of 73,” the network said in a statement. It added that the fate of the remaining detainees remains unknown.

The network described the move as a “positive step” but called for the release of all medical personnel and civilians, urging the RSF to grant international organizations access to detention sites.

The group held RSF leadership responsible for the lives of those held in what it described as “deplorable conditions,” demanding they be allowed to communicate with their families.

In November, the Emergency Lawyers group reported that detainees had died of hunger and a lack of medical care at the “Al-Khair Reformatory,” a facility 25 kilometres west of Nyala known locally as Digris prison. Witnesses have described the site as a centre for systematic abuse.

The RSF has been accused of increasing its targeting of healthcare workers. In October, the group reportedly kidnapped six medical staff in El Fasher, North Darfur, demanding a ransom of 100 million Sudanese pounds ($166,000) per person.

According to the Doctors Network, the RSF is currently holding approximately 19,000 people in Darfur, including 73 medical workers and more than 5,400 civilians.

Since the war between the Sudanese army and the RSF broke out in April 2023, the paramilitary group has detained thousands of people, including soldiers, traders, and politicians. Rights groups accuse the RSF of transferring detainees to Darfur from other regions and holding them in inhumane conditions.