South Darfur: A humanitarian arbitrarily arrested and detained by RSF in Nyala

South Darfur: A humanitarian arbitrarily arrested and detained by RSF in Nyala

South Darfur

The African Center for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) expresses deep concern over the
continued targeting of humanitarians/aid workers by the warring parties in Sudan. ACJPS is
concerned about the safety and well-being of Mr. Alfatih Ali, a humanitarian who was arrested by
RSF in Nyala, South Darfur, and remains in detention to date. We call upon the Rapid Support
Forces (RSF) in South Darfur to guarantee his physical and psychological integrity while in
detention.
We further call upon; General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF high command and the RSF officials in South Darfur i.e Brigadier Abdul Rahman Alfoti, the RSF command in South Darfur, and Major General Bashir Adam Isa, the RSF police Command in South Darfur to immediately release Mr. Alfatih Ali in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with
international law and standards or, if such charges exist, to bring him before an impartial,
independent and competent tribunal.
The parties to the conflict to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect the civilians of Sudan and to protect humanitarian personnel and assets by desisting from attacking, harassing, intimidating, or arbitrarily detaining personnel, or destroying, misappropriating, or looting relief supplies, material, units, or vehicles.
The warring parties to desist from targetting civilians for their work or ethnicity.
On 24 July 2024, Mr. Alfatih Ali, working with Krari Emergency Room in Nyala, South Darfur
was arrested by a group of RSF members and taken to the former National Security building
(currently one of RSF’s detention centers in Nyala) where he is currently detained. A reliable
source who preferred anonymity informed ACJPS that Mr. Ali’s family reached out to the RSF
intelligence unit in Nyala and they were told that Mr. Ali was arrested for misappropriation of
funds that had been advanced to the Krari Emergency Room by the Humanitarian Aid Commission
(HAC) in Nyala. They were further informed that Mr. Ali misappropriated 100,000 Sudanese
Pounds (approximately 37,000 USD) that was meant for humanitarian work. Mr. Ali’s close family
ties with Manni Manawi, the Chairperson of the Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM-MM) has
also made him a target of RSF. Another reliable source confirmed to ACJPS that the RSF
intelligence unit was tracking Mr. Ali’s bank accounts as he was suspected of money laundering
for SLM-MM, thus supporting the war in favor of SAF.
Background
Since conflict erupted across Sudan on 15 April 2023, the country has become one of the world’s
most dangerous and difficult places for humanitarian/aid workers. Several humanitarians have been killed and others arrested for their work. Humanitarians are targetted both on the ground and
online making it difficult to provide aid to the needy population.
Several humaniatrian organisations including Emergency Rooms in Sudan currently depend on
crowd funding/donations from Sudanese citizens and organizations within and outside Sudan thus
their funding sources have become an interest of the warring parties.
In September 2023, the SLM-Manni Manawi faction announced that they were leaving the Joint
Forces (formed by the ceasefire committe in North Darfur) and joining the armed conflict in
support of SAF to fight against RSF in Elfashir and other parts of Darfur. Consequently, several
youths belonging to the Zagawa tribe joined the SLM-MM army to participate in the ongoing
conflict. It is alleged that Mr. Ali’s arrest was ethnically motivated, he however denies having any
connections with the recruitment of zagawa youth or any involvement in the ongoing armed
confli