The Rapid Support Forces militia is detaining 600 women, some accompanied by their children, at Korea Prison in Nyala, South Darfur State, under extremely dire humanitarian conditions caused by prolonged detention and severe shortages of drinking water and food.
A guard at Korea Prison told Darfur24 that more than 600 women are being held on charges including espionage, cooperation with the Sudanese Armed Forces and joint forces, and providing coordinates for airstrikes.
She said that some detainees were former police and military personnel who had refused to join the RSF.
According to the guard, some women were transferred from customary courts over debt-related cases, while others were detained due to criminal offenses committed by their husbands, including four murder cases.
She added that more than 50 children are living inside the prison with their mothers, noting that detainees were arrested in cities and areas across Kordofan as well as northern, central, and southern Darfur.
In the same context, a former detainee at Kober Prison, released about a month ago, told Darfur24 that the facility holds large numbers of women distributed across five severely overcrowded wards.
She described the humanitarian situation as extremely harsh, with drinking water sometimes unavailable and food rations insufficient.
She noted that most detainees are between 20 and 50 years old, adding that some male and female officers exploit detainees with minor charges by forcing them to perform domestic labor such as cleaning and laundry.
“One officer took me along with another detainee to serve his wife in the Airport neighborhood, where we cleaned the house and washed clothes before being returned to the prison in the evening,” she said.
Meanwhile, a source close to the family of Islam Mohammed, who is detained by the RSF, told Darfur24 that their daughter has been held at Korea Prison since mid-December following an altercation with RSF elements and has not yet been released.
The source said the prison administration had repeatedly promised to release her, but failed to do so, despite her deteriorating health condition, as she is in the final months of pregnancy and requires special medical care. She is also the mother of two children.
