Umm Jalbakh, September 28 (Darfur24)
Rapid Support Forces (RSF) intelligence has arrested several civilians in North and East Darfur in recent days, according to local sources and relatives of detainees, amid heightened security measures as the army advances on fronts in North Kordofan.
In Umm Jalbakh, northwest of El Fasher, RSF intelligence arrested several members of the Jalul clan, a branch of the Mahamid tribe, and transferred them to Daqris prison in Nyala, South Darfur, according to sources.
The arrests come as Umm Jalbakh and nearby villages around Jebel Kusa have seen an influx of armed camel herders searching for pasture amid scarce rainfall and worsening drought in North Darfur.
The sources said the detainees were accused of spying for Musa Hilal, head of the Awakening Council and a prominent Mahamid leader, and Al-Nur Qubba, an RSF defector who recently joined the Sudanese Armed Forces.
They said RSF intelligence had tightened controls on camel herders believed to have arrived from Kutum and the Damra area associated with Musa Hilal.
The sources warned that the arrests could trigger clashes in Umm Jalbakh, also known locally as Umm Asal, which is historically associated with the Jalul clan.
Musa Hilal has supported the army during the current war. Several of his former associates who fought alongside the RSF, including Al-Nur Qubba and Ali Rizq Allah “Al-Safana,” later defected and began assembling forces to fight alongside the army.
In Adila locality, East Darfur, RSF intelligence separately arrested three civilians accused of communicating with relatives belonging to armed groups fighting alongside the army, according to a relative of the detainees.
The relative identified them as surveyor Al-Naeem Hilal, trader Ali Muhammad Ismail and teacher Al-Fadil, and said they were transferred from Adila to Al-Daein, the state capital, on Thursday.
Sources also told Darfur24 that RSF intelligence had launched a wider arrest campaign targeting traders accused of violating directives issued by RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo regarding the unification of prices for cash transactions and bank transfers.
The arrests come as the Sudanese army advances on fronts in North Kordofan, while the RSF mobilizes to prevent further advances toward Darfur.