September 5, Mellit — The bodies of two brothers, Tajadin Abdul Rahman and Kamaladin Abdul Rahman, aged 30 and 27, were found on Wednesday in the city of Mellit, North Darfur, after they had been arrested by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Hashim Ahmed Ismail, a member of the Resistance Committees in Mellit, revealed to Darfur24 that the arrest and death of the brothers was the result of the RSF finding pictures of the killing of Major General Ali Yaqoub — a former high-ranking RSF commander who died in battle in El Fasher in June — on Kamaladin’s phone. They were then taken from their home to an unknown location.
The Rapid Support Forces took control of the city of Mellit last April after fierce battles with the joint force of armed movements. It is considered the most important commercial outlet between Sudan and neighboring Libya.
A relative of the two brothers, who preferred to remain anonymous, told Darfur24 that their family had tried to find out where they were being held, and community leaders had attempted to intervene, but were unsuccessful.
He said the bodies had been found on Wednesday after pressure was exerted on the leadership of the RSF, who then directed them to the location of the bodies to bury them.
Mohamed Adel, a lawyer and human rights activist, denounced the arrests and harassment of citizens in Mellit, the torture of detainees, the search of phones, and the spread of terror and panic among civilians. Adel said that the brothers’ deaths must be investigated by human rights organizations.
The RSF launched a wide-scale campaign of arrests among civilians following airstrikes on the city by the Sudanese army, on charges of distributing coordinates chips for warplanes and cooperating with the other side.
Adel said that dozens of civilians are being held in RSF detention centers in Mellit, including Mayor Mohi El-Din Ahmed, head of the Supreme Emergency Committee. Hashem, a member of the Resistance Committee, also told Darfur24 that the RSF are using the local authority headquarters and the headquarters of the former United Nations and African Union Mission to interrogate and investigate detainees.