Nyala, January 07 (Darfur24)
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Wednesday denied reports that it is holding women in a prison in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur State, describing the allegations as baseless and unsupported by credible evidence.
The denial follows a Darfur24 report citing reliable sources that said the RSF is detaining around 600 women, some accompanied by their children, at the Korea prison in Nyala under extremely poor humanitarian conditions, including prolonged detention and severe shortages of food and drinking water.
In a statement, the RSF said it “categorically denies media reports about the detention of hundreds of women, some of them with their children, inside a prison in Nyala, South Darfur State,” adding that the claims “are completely unfounded and not based on any field facts or reliable evidence.”
The force warned news agencies and human rights organizations against what it described as being “misled by false information and claims promoted by propaganda outlets affiliated with the army,” accusing such outlets of selectively politicizing women’s issues to influence public opinion.
However, information obtained by Darfur24 indicates that among the detained women are former members of the police and army who refused to join the RSF, as well as others transferred from customary courts in connection with various cases. Sources also reported that more than 50 children are being held inside the detention facility alongside their mothers.
Darfur24 also documented testimony from a former female detainee who was released from Kober prison about a month ago. She said the detention center holds large numbers of women spread across five severely overcrowded wards.
According to her account, some officers—both male and female—exploit female detainees accused of minor offenses by assigning them domestic labor, including cleaning and laundry.
“One officer took another detainee and me to serve his wife in the Airport neighborhood, where we cleaned the house and washed clothes, before being returned to the detention center in the evening,” she said.