Sudanese Tribal Leader: Ransom Paid to Free Displaced Persons Abducted by RSF
Sudan Events – Agencies
Abu al-Qasim Omar Qandoul, head of the Native Administration in Shattaya locality, Darfur region, said on Tuesday that his administration had paid ransoms to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to secure the release of displaced persons abducted while fleeing from El-Fasher to the Tawila area.
Qandoul stated that the RSF had besieged civilians in El-Fasher for 500 days, depriving them of food and medical care. The prolonged siege and ensuing heavy fighting forced large numbers of residents to flee the city.
He explained that civilians heading toward Tawila — the nearest relatively safe area — were being intercepted by RSF forces, interrogated, and then asked to pay money in exchange for their release.
“I know individuals whose families paid ransom money to secure their freedom,” Qandoul said. “We paid 38 million Sudanese pounds in two installments (the dollar equals 3,700 pounds) to release five people.”
He confirmed that those who were released had successfully reached Tawila.
Regarding the displaced people who managed to flee to Tawila, Qandoul said their number had reached about 70,000, while many civilians remain trapped in El-Fasher under dire humanitarian conditions.
On October 26, the RSF seized control of El-Fasher, reportedly committing massacres against civilians, according to local and international human rights organizations.
On October 29, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemeti) acknowledged that violations had occurred in El-Fasher and claimed that an investigation had been launched into the incidents.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), citing local sources, said on Tuesday the attack in the state capital, which is still being held by the government-aligned Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), occurred without specifying when it took place or who was behind it.
Reports of the attack emerged as the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) appeared poised to launch an offensive on the city as army troops gathered in a bid to repel them.
“The security situation in the Kordofan region continues to worsen,” said OCHA. “Once again, we call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and for all parties to protect civilians and respect international humanitarian law.”
Fighting in the oil-rich region has intensified, with thousands fleeing to el-Obeid last week after the RSF recaptured the city of Bara, some 60km (37 miles) north of the city, from the SAF.
In parallel, the RSF seized control of el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, after the SAF’s withdrawal. More than 70,000 people have fled the city and surrounding areas since the RSF’s takeover, according to the UN.
Witnesses and human rights groups have reported cases of “summary executions”, sexual violence and massacres of civilians.
Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale’s School of Public Health, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that the RSF had “begun to dig mass graves and to collect bodies throughout the city”.
UN officials also warned this week that thousands of people are believed to be trapped in el-Fasher.
Source: Anadolu Agency
