Families of Sudan detainees urge African Union to broker prisoner swap

July 27, 2025 (PORT SUDAN) – Families of people detained in Sudan’s conflict on Sunday called on the African Union to broker a prisoner exchange between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Both sides have detained thousands since war erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF in April 2023, often held incommunicado in poor conditions, according to rights groups and family testimonies.

In a memorandum addressed to African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat, the families urged the continental body to “take a leading role in facilitating a neutral and internationally monitored initiative” for a prisoner swap.

“The families are concerned for the safety of their detained relatives in the absence of confirmed information about their conditions,” the memorandum stated.

The appeal highlighted reports of dozens of civilian and military prisoners dying in RSF-run detention centres from torture and a lack of food and medical care, particularly when the group controlled large parts of the capital Khartoum.

The families urged both warring parties to disclose lists of detainees, allow communication with relatives, and protect vulnerable prisoners such as women, children, and the disabled, in line with international humanitarian law.

The memorandum also noted that before being driven out of the capital, the RSF transferred thousands of prisoners to the western Darfur region. It said many are now held in prisons in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state.