A Sudanese employee of Médecins Sans Frontières has been released after spending about a year in detention in West Darfur, local Sudanese media reported on Thursday.
The employee, who worked for the Spanish section of MSF, had been detained by the Rapid Support Forces on allegations of communicating with the Sudanese army and cooperating with hostile parties, according to sources cited by Darfur24.
The sources said he was arrested following an attack on the headquarters of the West Darfur civil administration in El Geneina that targeted the head of the administration, Tijani al-Tahir Karshoum.
Karshoum survived the attack, while three members of his entourage were killed.
According to the report, the MSF employee’s detention was also linked to an audio recording circulated on social media in which he discussed military drone strikes on El Geneina, Saraf Omra and Al Zurug.
The recording reportedly referred to the impact of the attacks and to injuries sustained by the head of the civil administration.
Sources told Darfur24 that investigators questioned the employee over alleged contacts with senior figures in the Sudanese army.
They also said the man had previously served in the Sudanese army before later joining the humanitarian organisation.
Neither MSF nor the RSF had publicly commented on the circumstances of his release at the time of publication.
