A new wave of violence and lawlessness has gripped Sudan’s Darfur region after six healthcare workers were abducted in Al-Fashir by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), according to the Sudan Doctors’ Network (SDN). The kidnapping, reportedly accompanied by ransom demands totaling $1 million, has sparked outrage among human rights organizations and underscored the growing collapse of the region’s humanitarian infrastructure amid Sudan’s ongoing civil conflict.

The SDN, a prominent medical organization that has played a critical role in documenting wartime atrocities and coordinating medical relief, reported that the hostages-four doctors, a pharmacist, and a nurse-had been treating the wounded during the weeks-long siege of Al-Fashir before being captured by RSF fighters. The group said in a statement posted on Facebook that RSF units were demanding approximately 100 million Sudanese pounds, or around $167,000, for each of the four doctors’ release.

“We affirm that this is an organized criminal act aimed at destroying what remains of the healthcare system in Darfur and intimidating humanitarian workers,” the SDN said. The organization held the RSF “fully responsible for the safety and lives of the abducted personnel,” adding that this latest incident is part of a broader pattern of deliberate targeting of medical professionals in conflict zones across Sudan.

Darfur’s fragile healthcare system, already devastated by two decades of conflict and neglect, has been pushed to the brink by the civil war between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). Since fighting broke out in April 2023, hospitals across the country have been bombed, looted, or repurposed as military bases. In Al-Fashir, once a........

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