Sudan’s RSF detains civilians, offers fight-or-pay ultimatum – doctors group

May 28, 2025 (EL DAEIN) – The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have detained civilians in East Darfur state, western Sudan, offering them a choice between fighting in its ranks or paying a ransom, the Sudan Doctors Network said on Wednesday.

The RSF announced a general mobilisation earlier this week to recruit new fighters, vowing to punish anyone obstructing the call-up.

An RSF force arrested 178 people, including one medical worker, in the city of El Daein as part of a “campaign of forcibly recruiting civilians and compelling them to fight in its ranks,” the network said in a statement.

The RSF offered detainees the choice of fighting alongside them or paying a ransom for their release, the network said.

The detention of civilians for ransom is one of many violations committed by RSF elements in areas under their control, the network’s statement suggested, alluding to a pattern of such abuses.

The Sudan Doctors Network specifically highlighted the case of nurse Hamdan Abdallah Musa, among those detained, whose family was told to pay a ransom or he would be forced into combat.

The network called on the international community to pressure the RSF to stop these practices, which it said violate international norms and constitute crimes against unarmed civilians.

The Sudan Doctors Network condemned the forced detentions, the implication of civilians in the conflict, and forcing them into combat as violations of all humanitarian and international laws. It also condemned holding them in detention centres with no regard for fundamental human rights.