Sudan camp spokesman says RSF allies arrested 40 aid workers in Darfur
April 27, 2025 (EL FASHER) – A militia allied with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) arrested 40 aid workers and about 50 civilians during an evacuation near El Fasher in Sudan’s North Darfur state on Sunday, a displacement camp spokesperson accused.
Mohammed Khamis Douda, spokesperson for the Zamzam displacement camp near El Fasher, told Sudan Tribune that the group, including staff from the International Relief Organization (IRO), were intercepted by the militia while travelling towards the town of Tawila and taken to an unknown location.
The alleged incident follows a deadly attack on April 12, attributed by camp residents to the RSF, which killed nine IRO staff members at Zamzam camp. Residents reported that the RSF subsequently took control of the vast camp, displacing hundreds of thousands.
Douda explained the evacuation on Sunday involved remaining IRO staff who survived the April attack, alongside colleagues based in El Fasher city, acting on orders from the US-based leadership of the aid organization.
He identified the militia involved in the arrests as belonging to Arab tribes allied with the RSF. He claimed they accused the aid workers of being Sudanese army officers fleeing El Fasher.
The International Relief Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Separately, Douda accused the RSF of killing about eight Zamzam residents and mutilating their bodies, injuring five others, and abducting around ten more people who were attempting to reach Tawila recently.
He also blamed the “Founding Alliance Forces,” a coalition including the RSF and Darfur armed groups allied with it, for allegedly misleading residents and directing them towards RSF positions where they faced arrest or death under suspicion of belonging to the army or rival forces.
The Founding Alliance, comprising the Sudan Liberation Movement – Transitional Council (SLM-TC), led by Al-Hadi Idris, and the Gathering of Sudan Liberation Forces (GSLF), headed by Al-Tahir Hajar, alongside the RSF, had previously helped evacuate civilians from El Fasher to Tawila amid worsening security conditions.