Nyala , August 3(Darfur 24)
The city of Nyala, South Darfur State, has recently witnessed two separate abduction incidents targeting two pharmacists by unidentified armed men demanding a ransom for their release.
Eyewitnesses and local sources told Darfur 24 that gunmen in a combat vehicle kidnapped pharmacist Khalid Sheikh El-Din, owner of Konoz El-Dawa and Al-Razi pharmacies.
A pharmacist who preferred to be identified by her pseudonym “Umm Wafa” for security reasons reported that the abduction occurred in the city’s market, where the kidnappers took him to an unknown location.
She added, “The kidnappers later contacted the abductee and’s family and demanded a ransom of 200 million Sudanese pounds.”
She noted that tribal community leaders to which the abducted man belongs intervened and demanded that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leadership search for him so that he could be released without paying any ransom.
A source close to the family of pharmacist Abdul Sami Adam Ahmed Daldom, an employee of Tabuk Pharmaceutical Company and owner of Al-Sayadala Pharmacy, said they had no information about his fate after his abduction.
According to eyewitnesses, Daldom was abducted last Thursday and has yet to be found, even after the case was reported to Nyala Central Police Station.
In a related development, a recently released abductee, after his family paid 10 million Sudanese pounds, revealed the extortion methods used by armed groups allied with the RSF.
He explained that the kidnappers compel the victim to contact his family to transfer the requested amount to a bank account, and then release him in an area far from the city.
The kidnapped man, who requested anonymity for security reasons, recounted that he was tortured after being taken to Jebel Saqra, northeast of Nyala, before being asked to contact his family to transfer the ransom.
After negotiations, it was agreed to pay 10 million Sudanese pounds instead of the 50 million initially demanded.
In an attempt to curb abduction and armed robberies, the civilian administration affiliated with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) decided on July 23 to register all civil and military vehicles and assign them a security number.
The RSF has controlled Nyala since October 2023, following violent clashes with the Sudanese army, which later withdrew from the city.