Sudanese journalists syndicate demands RSF release detained reporters
October 21, 2026 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese Journalists Syndicate on Wednesday demanded that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) immediately release journalists Mustafa Fadl al-Moula and Muammar Ibrahim.
The syndicate also called on the paramilitary group to reveal the fate of four journalists who remain forcibly disappeared.
In May, the syndicate reported that Ibrahim was suffering a severe health deterioration inside an RSF detention centre in Nyala, South Darfur, adding he was denied medical care.
The syndicate said in a statement that the RSF has held Fadl al-Moula since September 2023, without any information about his whereabouts or condition.
His family has been unable to communicate with him, the statement added.
Ibrahim has been held by the RSF since October 2025 in unknown conditions, with his family also barred from contacting him.
The syndicate demanded the journalists’ immediate and unconditional release.
Targeting journalists undermines press freedom, the community’s right to know, and restricts the flow of information, making it harder to access the truth during the ongoing conflict, the syndicate said.
The syndicate expressed concern over the health and psychological well-being of the journalists amid deteriorating sanitary conditions and a lack of medical care inside RSF detention facilities.
The statement noted that four other journalists remain forcibly disappeared.
The continuous disappearance of journalists amid the war, along with violence, hate speech, incitement, and misinformation, increases threats to their lives and mental safety, the syndicate warned.
This environment paves the way for impunity and continued violations, it added.
Press freedom organizations state that arrests, forced disappearances, and mistreatment threaten journalists’ safety and limit their ability to report information and document abuses during armed conflicts.
The syndicate urged the United Nations and international and regional human rights and press freedom organizations to take urgent action to uncover the fate of the disappeared journalists.
It called for pressure on the warring parties to ensure journalists’ safety, secure their release, and hold perpetrators accountable.
Journalists and media workers in Sudan have faced arrest and forced disappearance since the war broke out between the army and the RSF in April 2023, amid repeated concerns about their safety and detention conditions.