Nyala, August 05 (Darfur24)
Armed men wearing Rapid Support Forces (RSF) uniforms have intensified kidnappings targeting Bank of Khartoum account holders in Nyala, South Darfur State, forcing victims at gunpoint to access the Bankak mobile banking application and transfer money from their accounts, according to multiple local sources.
The reported incidents come weeks after similar kidnappings in July in which three people, including two healthcare workers, were allegedly abducted and robbed through the Bankak app.
Two sources told Darfur24 that armed men in RSF uniforms abducted Dr. Ali Youssef near Al-Haram Medical Clinic in the Al-Jumhuriya neighbourhood. They allegedly forced him at gunpoint to unlock his Bankak account and transferred at least SSP 80,000 from it over three days before releasing him.
In a separate incident, a healthcare worker, identified only by the initials N.A., said armed men wearing RSF uniforms seized him while he was walking through Jebel Market last Friday. He said they blindfolded him, forced him into a pickup truck, and held him for five hours inside an unfinished building.
The victim told Darfur24 that his captors searched his mobile phone, compelled him to open his Bankak account, and transferred more than SSP 1,000 before releasing him.
In another case, a medical equipment trader identified as Ayman was reportedly detained for four hours in the Airport neighbourhood after being lured by men in RSF uniforms. According to sources, he was forced to access his bank account, and about SSP 5,000 was transferred before he was released.
Local sources said kidnappings, which had declined over the past three months, have resurfaced in Nyala with a new pattern, targeting Bankak users to steal funds held in their accounts.
The reported incidents come as increasing numbers of residents in Darfur rely on mobile banking applications for financial transactions amid a severe cash shortage and the disruption of conventional banking services caused by the ongoing conflict.
Darfur24 could not independently verify the reported incidents. The RSF had not commented on the allegations at the time of publication.