More than 300 detainees die in North Darfur prison, local group says

February 8, 2026 (EL FASHER) – More than 300 detainees have died in a prison in Sudan’s North Darfur state over the past two months due to deteriorating health conditions and a lack of medical care, a local group said on Sunday.

The Popular Resistance in North Darfur said in a statement that it documented the deaths at Shala prison in the state capital, El Fasher. The city has been under the control of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since Oct. 26.

The group said the RSF is holding more than 9,000 civilians at the facility, located southwest of the city. Many of those detained are civilians with serious injuries from shelling who have been denied medical treatment, leading to severe infections, the statement said.

The RSF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The statement also alleged that a cholera outbreak is spreading through the prison, causing five to 10 deaths per week. It accused the RSF of leaving bodies inside cells with living detainees for long periods.

The local group further accused the RSF of carrying out extrajudicial killings, alleging that 15 wounded people were executed last week at a university dormitory after being accused of belonging to the Joint Force, a coalition of armed groups fighting alongside the Sudanese army.

Since seizing El Fasher, the RSF has restricted humanitarian access and maintained a shutdown of satellite internet services. Rights groups and international observers have previously accused both sides in Sudan’s 33-month-old conflict of committing atrocities.

The Popular Resistance called for an urgent international intervention to protect civilians and prisoners in the city.