Sudan: El Fasher civilians suffer unlawful killings, detention and torture one year after city’s capture by the RSF – new testimony
Detention, torture, and unlawful killings in prisons
Of the 19 residents interviewed, 17 were detained by the RSF. Most were arbitrarily detained during the RSF capture of the city, while several were detained when they returned to retrieve belongings from their homes or to search for missing family members. They were all held in captivity for months. Several noted that people of particular ethnic groups, notably Zaghawa and Masalit people, were more likely to be detained and abused.
Most men were held in detention centres or prisons, where they witnessed unlawful killings, suffered torture and other ill-treatment, and were given minimal food or water. All were released only after family members paid ransom, or by escaping.
Modathir*, a 29-year-old Zaghawa man, was detained in Shala prison. He was regularly beaten and witnessed unlawful killings. He told Amnesty International: “Torture is something which is permanent in any [RSF] detention. They executed people who tried to look at them… If you sleep a lot, they don’t like that, they will execute you. They ask, ‘You want to take a rest? We will give you permanent rest’.” In July 2026, Modathir escaped, fleeing from house to house in order to reach safety.