The Rapid Support Forces released 18 people in West Kordofan after checking their security clearance during a journey from East Darfur towards central Sudan.
Relatives said the group was intercepted near Al-Mujlad, accused of spying for General Abdel Fattah al Burhan’s army and supporting Islamist battalions fighting alongside it.
One family member said the detainees were heading towards the South Sudan border when security forces halted their journey.
Local sources said mediation by East Darfur’s administration secured their release, under strict conditions forbidding any further travel.
The Rapid Support Forces have tightened road controls towards Burhan-held regions, aiming to block young men from joining rival forces.
Across Darfur, worsening living conditions are driving hundreds of youths to seek livelihoods in northern artisanal mining areas.
In this grinding war, movement itself has become a battlefield, where hope is searched for and suspicion travels armed.
