Sudanese army frees prisoners from RSF jails in Al Jazirah state

January 11, 2025 (WAD MADANI) – Sudanese army forces have freed a group of prisoners held for months by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Wad Madani, the capital of Al Jazirah state in central Sudan, the army said on Saturday.

The army and allied fighters retook Wad Madani on Saturday morning after crossing the Hantoub Bridge from the east. The RSF had used the bridge to seize control of the city in late 2023.

The army said in a statement it had “liberated several prisoners held in RSF prisons in Wad Madani for several months, where they were denied access to food and medical treatment.” Army command had ordered that the prisoners be safely transported and provided with medical and nutritional care before being handed over to their families, it added.

Released detainees were found in extremely poor health, showing clear signs of illness and severe hunger, and were transferred to medical facilities before being reunited with their families, witnesses said.

The Al Jazirah Observatory, a local rights monitor, condemned the RSF’s detention and mistreatment of prisoners. In a statement seen by Sudan Tribune, the group said, “Following the army’s recapture of Wad Madani, the severe suffering endured by a group of individuals arbitrarily detained by the Rapid Support Forces has been revealed.”

The Observatory said the army found the prisoners in an appalling condition, with many subjected to torture and reduced to “skeletal figures” due to starvation and cruel treatment.

The rights group condemned the abuses, stating they constituted a clear violation of international law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

The Al Jazirah Observatory has documented a series of alleged abuses by the RSF in Al Jazirah state, including mass killings, torture, rape, forced displacement, destruction of farmland, and the looting of markets, shops, hospitals, and health centres.