Sudan aid volunteer dies in RSF custody in North Darfur, medics say

September 20, 2026 (NYALA) – A Sudanese aid volunteer has died in Rapid Support Forces (RSF) custody in North Darfur state nearly a year after being detained, a medical rights group said on Sunday.

The Sudanese Doctors Network said El Tayeb El Tom Mersal died inside the RSF-run Shala Prison in El Fasher, the state capital, where he had been held since the city fell to the paramilitary force.

The RSF captured El Fasher in October 2025 following a months-long siege and heavy clashes, displacing tens of thousands of residents amid widespread reports of arbitrary arrests and abuses against civilians.

The medical group said Mersal’s death was part of a pattern of fatalities in undisclosed RSF detention sites, where detainees have been held incommunicado for nearly a year.

More than 3,000 people are being held in Shala Prison, repurposed residential houses, and University of El Fasher facilities, with minimal access to medical care, according to the network.

The group held the RSF responsible for the detainees’ well-being, warning of disease outbreaks, severe shortages of food and water, and allegations of torture that have caused inmates to collapse.

It called on international rights groups and aid agencies to pressure the RSF to grant unhindered access to detention facilities, release civilians held arbitrarily, and investigate abuses.

The RSF was not immediately available for comment on the allegations.