ISTANBUL

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are holding more than 100 Sudanese families from the town of Babnousa in West Kordofan and nearby villages in “extremely dangerous” humanitarian conditions, with some detainees, especially women, beaten and humiliated, the Sudan Doctors Network said Friday.

In a statement posted on US social media company X, the network said videos reviewed by its teams show women being assaulted after RSF fighters accused their relatives of belonging to the Sudanese army, raising “serious concerns for the safety of the detainees.”

The group condemned the incidents, saying the detention and mistreatment of civilians is a grave violation of international humanitarian law and worsens the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in the region.

It reiterated its rejection of targeting civilians, particularly women and children, or using them as leverage to pressure or extort their families.

The network called on the international community and UN agencies to clearly condemn the incidents, impose sanctions on those responsible, and hold the RSF fully accountable for the safety of the detained women and children.

It urged urgent steps to protect the families and ensure their immediate release.

Control of Babnousa remains disputed

The situation inside Babnousa remains opaque, with conflicting accounts over who controls the city after months of siege and fighting.

The Sudanese army said Tuesday it had repelled a new RSF attack on Babnousa, one day after the RSF announced it had captured the strategic city.

Babnousa has been under a near-total siege since April 2024, forcing the displacement of around 177,000 people, according to local relief committees. The army has also been airdropping supplies to its besieged forces inside the city.

Local media outlets, including the Sudan Tribune, reported that army units may have withdrawn from Babnousa toward Heglig, a West Kordofan town under army control.

On the other side, RSF Babnousa operations commander Saleh al-Fouti said his forces had “liberated” the city and expelled the army, claiming in a recorded statement that the RSF now controls the 22nd Division headquarters.

The RSF has surrounded Babnousa since January 2024, while the army has been entrenched inside the 22nd Division compound in the city that has become almost entirely depopulated.

The bloody conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has killed at least 40,000 people and displaced some 12 million, according to the World Health Organization.