Sudan urges Red Cross to redouble efforts on prisoner swaps

October 3, 2026 (NEW YORK) – A senior Sudanese diplomat on Saturday urged the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to intensify efforts to facilitate the exchange of military and civilian prisoners caught in the country’s conflict.

Muawiya Osman Khalid, undersecretary of Sudan’s foreign ministry, met the head of the ICRC delegation in New York, Elise Nicole Mosquini, to discuss humanitarian cooperation and the detention files.

Khalid said ongoing wartime conditions demand expanded humanitarian intervention, particularly to secure detainee releases, the ministry said in a statement.

The discussion also touched on conditions facing Sudanese nationals in Libya and Syria and potential assistance the Red Cross could provide.

Mosquini reiterated the ICRC’s readiness to continue supporting humanitarian operations and prisoner-related issues, the ministry said.

The appeal comes alongside a parallel mediation effort led by UN Special Envoy to Sudan Pekka Haavisto, who proposed a mechanism for swapping prisoners between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Haavisto said on Sept. 25 that both warring parties had established liaison channels with the United Nations to coordinate detainee releases and prisoner exchanges as a confidence-building step.

In June, Khartoum appealed to the United Nations to assist in freeing more than 20,000 people it accused the RSF of holding in detention centres across North and South Darfur.