A number of homeowners in the Al-Imtidad neighborhood in central Nyala, South Darfur State, accused officers from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia on Monday of seizing their homes following their displacement due to the war that erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF in 2023.
Residents of the area reported that attacks on homes have recently escalated by RSF officers and their families, with the aim of taking them over under the pretext that the neighborhood’s residents originate from northern Sudan or are affiliated with regular security forces.
The residents revealed that more than 20 homes in the neighborhood have been seized, confirming that many families were forced to leave their houses due to continuous threats of eviction or arrest on accusations of affiliation with the Sudanese Armed Forces.
Mohamed Awad, a resident of the area, told Darfur24 that an RSF officer arrived at one of the houses last January and, along with others, assaulted the family living there before arresting the head of the household on allegations of belonging to the armed forces, after which the family was expelled from the home.
Awad added that several lawyers filed a complaint with a judicial committee affiliated with the RSF, headed by Prosecutor Ahmed Al-Halla, but the committee rejected the homeowners’ requests to evacuate the houses from RSF elements.
He further stated that a neighbor intervened, asserting that the house belonged to a civilian citizen and not a military figure, but the officer arrested him, and his whereabouts remain unknown.
For his part, Mohamed Osman, another resident, told Darfur24 that an RSF member is currently residing in his home located near Ali Bouhiya Mosque, noting that the occupant refused to vacate the property despite the family’s demands to return.
One female resident said she returned to her family’s home in Al-Imtidad neighborhood only to find an RSF officer and his family living there, north of the Ministry of Education.
She told Darfur24 that after demanding the evacuation of the house following a long displacement journey, she was threatened by an RSF member who claimed that her accompanying husband was a military officer and would be arrested if they returned again to demand the evacuation of the house.
In the same context, a lawyer in Nyala—who requested anonymity—told Darfur24 that RSF officers threaten citizens with arrest before seizing their homes and housing their families in them.
The lawyer disclosed that more than 100 complaints have been filed by citizens from the neighborhoods of Al-Imtidad, Al-Mazada, Al-Jumhuriya, Al-Istibaliya, Sham Al-Naseem, Al-Cinema, concerning officers arriving from Khartoum who have housed their families in these homes and expelled the resident families, alleging that the homeowners are affiliated with the Sudanese Armed Forces or the National Congress Party.
