The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) arrested three men in Mershing, a small town 85 kilometres north of Nyala in South Darfur. Local sources identified the detainees as Abdullah Sandal, Mohamed Hussein Idris, and his father, accusing them of aiding a prisoner’s escape from Al-Malam.
Witnesses said the arrests occurred last week at Mershing Market. While Idris’s father was later freed, the other two remain in custody. The case traces back to a decade-old complaint by shepherds accusing a man named Issam of livestock theft, the sources explained.
RSF intelligence captured Issam two weeks ago, and the arrest reportedly reignited the old case, prompting the detention of the three men. A relative said mediation is ongoing, claiming “many arrests are driven by money rather than justice.”
Residents in Mershing, Manawashi, and Al-Malam told that RSF-linked groups are exploiting old grievances and tribal rivalries. They alleged kidnappings and selective prosecutions, suggesting the reopening of dormant cases serves more as intimidation than pursuit of the rule of law.
The detentions add to growing fears among locals that security forces are weaponising legal disputes to extract money and enforce control. With tribal wounds still raw and institutions weakened, critics warn these tactics risk deepening mistrust and fuelling new cycles of violence.
