It seems the warring parties to Sudan’s conflict have both found a new target for their war, as journalists are now the victims of their rights violations and war crimes.

Development Diaries reports that the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have intensified their targeting of journalists covering the eight-month war that has killed many and displaced thousands more.

We understand El Midan’s Editor-in-Chief, Haisam Dafallah, and his brother are the latest victims of the RSF after the armed group forcefully took them from their home in eastern Khartoum.

A day before Dafallah’s abduction, journalist and member of the board of the Sudanese Journalist Syndicate, Ogeil El Naeem, was also abducted by the RSF in front of his home in El Jeili area of Khartoum North.

Another journalist, Yasir Jubara, was also detained by Military Intelligence officers near Ed Damazin, capital of the Blue Nile region, on 06 January, and held for four days in inhumane conditions inside a container as he was accused of being a member of the Forces for Freedom and Change.

As for Nile Blue TV’s presenter, Ahmed Arabi, the ultimate price was paid on 11 January after he was taken for investigation by army officers and later declared dead by the officers that had taken him.

These detentions, intimidation, and killings highlight the gross violations and war crimes being perpetrated by the SAF and RSF across the country under the cover of the ongoing war.

Freedom House, in its Freedom in the World 2023 report, ranked Sudan as ‘not free’, with the country scoring ten out of a possible 100 points.

Development Diaries calls on the authorities in Sudan to ensure the unconditional release of Dafallah and every journalist unjustly detained for carrying out their duties.

We also call for an independent investigation into the killing of Arabi, as both warring parties are obligated by international humanitarian laws to protect all civilians.

Source: Dabanga

Photo source:  Dabanga