RSF accused of arresting volunteers, looting food in Khartoum’s East Nile area

December 18, 2024 (KHARTOUM) – The East Nile Emergency Room accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Wednesday of arresting volunteers at community kitchens and health workers and stealing money and food supplies.

The RSF has controlled the East Nile district of Khartoum state since the conflict erupted on April 15, 2023, using it as a key stronghold and committing serious abuses in the area.

In a statement seen by Sudan Tribune, the East Nile Emergency Room said it was “monitoring with concern the ongoing violations and repeated arrests of volunteers in community kitchens and health workers by armed individuals belonging to the RSF in the neighbourhoods of East Nile.”

It noted that these forces are stealing money and food and targeting those responsible for providing supplies to community kitchens.

“These practices threaten the continued provision of humanitarian services and increase the suffering of citizens in light of the challenging humanitarian conditions experienced by the people of East Nile and those displaced from other areas,” the statement added.

It stressed that targeting health facilities and humanitarian workers seriously violates humanitarian and international norms and conventions.

The emergency room emphasized the need to respect humanitarian work and keep it neutral from conflicts. It also called for an end to the repeated attacks that hinder efforts to alleviate the burdens on citizens who rely on these services to survive.

The East Nile Emergency Room provides food, medicine, and healthcare to tens of thousands of residents in the area. It also conducts environmental sanitation activities and documents violations.