Wednesday, 8 April 2026 | Author – Alex Onyango | Nairobi-Kenya | Photo Credit: Reuters| GT-News |
Nairobi, April 8, 2026 (The Golden Times)— Sudan’s armed forces and allied security units have arbitrarily detained, tortured and forcibly disappeared civilians in areas under their control, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday, urging authorities to end the abuses and grant access to independent investigators.
In a report based on interviews with 28 people — including former detainees, relatives, lawyers and a member of the security forces — the rights group said civilians were being targeted on suspicion of collaborating with the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
“Accounts by former detainees, their relatives, and lawyers paint a grim picture of arbitrary abuses emboldened by a climate of impunity,” said Mohamed Osman, HRW’s Sudan researcher.
The alleged abuses have taken place in areas retaken by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) since 2024, including Khartoum, Gezira, Gedaref, Red Sea and Northern states.
HRW said detainees were often held incommunicado, with families given little or no information about their whereabouts. In some cases, individuals were forcibly disappeared, while others were subjected to beatings and ill-treatment that may amount to war crimes.
A 35-year-old woman detained in Port Sudan after fleeing RSF-controlled Gezira state said she was repeatedly beaten.
“They kept beating and slapping me with their hands and sticks and whips,” she said, describing her treatment in custody. She was released without charge after a week.
The report also cites the case of a 25-year-old man arrested at his home in February by armed men, some in military uniform, whose whereabouts remain unknown.
Rights groups say those detained include people accused of links to the RSF based on ethnicity, political affiliation or humanitarian work. Individuals from Sudan’s western Darfur region appear to have been disproportionately targeted, HRW said.
The organisation also documented cases involving aid workers and volunteers accused of supporting the RSF, as well as hundreds of women detained on similar grounds. At least 25 women have reportedly been sentenced to death, according to rights groups.
In January, Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ordered the release of 400 women detainees and called for a review of cases, but lawyers say many remain in custody without due process.
Sudan’s Attorney General has rejected most of the allegations, denying the existence of secret detention facilities and unlawful arrests. Authorities say detainees are held in recognised prisons under legal supervision.
However, HRW said prosecutorial and judicial oversight remains weak and called for the immediate release of those unlawfully detained.
The group also urged Sudanese authorities to allow access to international investigators, including UN and African Union-mandated fact-finding missions — a move the government has so far resisted.
The conflict between the SAF and RSF, which erupted in April 2023, has triggered widespread human rights violations and displaced millions across the country.
HRW called on international and regional actors to press Sudan’s military leadership to end abuses and ensure accountability.
“The authorities should end arbitrary detentions and provide redress to detainees and their families,” Osman said.
