‘RSF detain local mayor and civilians in East Darfur’, protests and arrests spread across eastern Sudan

Local sources reported that a force affiliated with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) arrested Mayor Omer Adibo, head of the rural court in Muhajiriya area of Yassin locality in East Darfur, along with 16 other residents, on Wednesday evening.

In an interview with Radio Dabanga today, eyewitnesses said that a convoy of around 10 armed vehicles stormed the weekly market in Muhajiriya yesterday, detained Mayor Adibo and several civilians, and transferred them to Nyala, the capital of South Darfur.

According to the sources, who asked not to be named, the RSF accused the detainees of affiliation with armed movements allied to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and of participating in fighting in North Darfur’s capital of El Fasher. Other 

A source close to Adibo told Radio Dabanga, that several detainees, including Mayor Adibo, had not left the area for more than ten months and had played no role in El Fasher’s battles. 

The source suggested the arrests were the result of “malicious reports” amid heightened security tensions.

Eastern Sudan protests

The arrests come as eastern Sudan experiences a surge in protests, road closures, and human rights violations.

Earlier this week in Kassala, masked gunmen reportedly abducted Dr Mujahed Saadok outside a health centre, assaulted him, and transferred him to a security facility before releasing him. 

In a post on his Facebook yesterday, his brother, Mutasim Saadok, said that the assailants, “without presenting any warrant, demanded he accompany them,” and that attempts to fabricate charges by monitoring his social media had failed.

Youths in the Tendlai area of Kassala blocked the national road linking Kassala and Port Sudan for several hours, setting fire to roadblocks.

In a filmed statement released today, the demonstrators said they were demanding a meeting with the state governor and urgent solutions to water shortages, deteriorating roads, and the threat posed by the Gash River which floods near the Reefi Aroma locality, adding that the protest reflected “the failure of previous promises and worsening living conditions.”

Also, clashes in Kassala between residents and an anti-smuggling force left at least one civilian injured and over 20 arrested.

The United Popular Front for Liberation and Justice, led by El Amin Daoud, condemned both the assault on civilians and the burning of state facilities, calling for accountability and stressing that “actions by some security members insult human dignity and ignite community anger.”

In Port Sudan today, ‘Nubian’ groups protested potential unilateral changes in sovereign power, insisting that restructuring of state institutions “must be carried out within a broad national consensus including all components of Sudan,” a source with direct knowledge of the protests, who asked not to be named, told Radio Dabanga.

The source warned that “these demonstrations could escalate, aimed at preventing measures that destabilise the current balance and undermine those who have sacrificed to protect Sudan and its institutions.”

Displaced people sheltering at the Air Defence Primary School in Port Sudan also staged protests yesterday, blocking roads to oppose relocation to centres lacking basic services, citing threats from residents seeking to resume school activities.

Protests continued in Red Sea state, with the Standards and Metrology Authority headquarters closed for a third day due to unfulfilled employment agreements.

In El Gedaref, authorities continue to detain activist Alaa El Din El Shereif, while lawyers appealed the six-month prison sentence handed to Ayman Hariri over a Facebook post, describing alleged illegal practices by government security cells.