A Sudanese medical group accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Tuesday of holding 20 doctors in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state.

In a statement, the Sudan Doctors Network said a report prepared by its team in North Darfur found that healthcare workers in the state were subjected to widespread attacks between April 15, 2023 and Oct. 26, 2025 when the RSF took over the city.

It said 25 medical workers were killed during that period.

“Some 20 doctors, including four women, were detained in El Fasher, and their whereabouts have remained unknown since the RSF seized control of the city,” the network said.

The group said the loss of such a number of healthcare workers “represents a devastating blow to the health sector in North Darfur.”

It called on the RSF to disclose the fate of the detained medics in El Fasher and allow medical workers to perform their duties away from “being targeted or subjected to violations.”

According to local and international institutions, the RSF seized control of El Fasher on Oct. 26 last year, amid accusations of massacres against civilians and warnings that the development could deepen Sudan’s geographic fragmentation.

Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the army and the RSF over plans to integrate the paramilitary force into the military. The war has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, killing tens of thousands and displacing nearly 13 million. (AA)