More than 215 civilians die in South Darfur detention centre, Sudan doctors say

June 24, 2026 (KHARTOUM) – More than 215 civilians detained at a major detention centre in Sudan’s South Darfur state have died over the past two months due to torture and disease outbreaks, the Sudan Doctors Network said on Wednesday.

The fatalities at the Daqrees prison in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, occurred during May and June. Human rights and humanitarian organizations describe the facility as one of the largest detention centres in the Darfur region, housing large numbers of civilians detained since the war broke out in April 2023.

The Sudanese doctors’ group said field sources reported that the deaths resulted from a lack of healthcare, mistreatment, torture, and the spread of epidemics. Humanitarian and medical organizations face severe challenges accessing the detainees due to tight restrictions, the group added.

The network also raised concerns over the fate of 31 detainees, including children, who were recently transferred from the prison to Nyala Hospital. According to the medical group’s report, these individuals did not suffer from medical conditions that warranted the relocation, and their current whereabouts remain unknown.

The statement also noted unverified reports alleging that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had extracted blood from some detainees to treat its wounded fighters, though the network stated it could not independently confirm these claims.

The Sudan Doctors Network condemned the abuses and called for an immediate halt to forced detentions. It demanded that international medical and humanitarian organizations be granted immediate access to all detention facilities in Darfur.

The medical group urged the international community and global human rights organizations to pressure the leadership of the RSF to ensure civilian protection and to hold those responsible for the abuses accountable under international law.