A Sudanese police officer detained in eastern Chad more than four months ago remains missing, with his family appealing to Sudanese and Chadian authorities to disclose his whereabouts and clarify the circumstances of his detention.
Captain Mohamed al-Fateh Ishaq was arrested in the Chadian border town of Adré on May 8 along with five other Sudanese police personnel who had been living in Chad as refugees, according to local Sudanese media.
His son said in a Facebook post that the family still does not know where Ishaq is being held, which authority is responsible for his detention or the conditions under which he is being held.
He urged authorities in both countries to reveal his father’s whereabouts and explain what steps have been taken to locate him and the other missing officers.
The case dates back to the arrival in Chad of a Sudanese passport and civil registry team tasked with issuing identification documents to Sudanese nationals. Several police officers were part of the delegation.
Ishaq and other Sudanese officers had previously fled West Darfur’s El Geneina after the city came under the control of the Rapid Support Forces and were living in Chad as refugees before joining the documentation team in the eastern city of Abéché.
His son called for an investigation into who detained his father, the reasons for his detention and his legal status, while demanding guarantees for his safety and access to his family and a lawyer.
He also appealed to human rights groups, humanitarian organisations, the UN refugee agency and other bodies involved in refugee protection to follow the case.
The family criticised what it described as months of official silence over Ishaq and other missing Sudanese police officers.
Local Sudanese media reported at the time that Sudan’s consul general in Abéché had summoned a team of Sudanese police officers in May to issue passports and other documents without formally notifying Chadian authorities about the officers’ duties.
Sources said the officers entered Chad on visas linked to a visit to the Sudanese consulate, without a clear designation of their official roles.
Disagreements later emerged between the Sudanese embassy in N’Djamena and the consulate in Abéché over where the team should begin its work, prompting Chadian security authorities to check the identities of its members.
The officers were subsequently detained after Chadian authorities established that several members of the team were serving Sudanese police officers, the reports said. Other Sudanese officers already in Chad who had made contact with the delegation were also arrested.
Among those detained was reportedly a police major general who had previously served as police chief in West Darfur, along with several other officers.
Following the arrests, Chadian authorities reportedly declared Sudan’s consul general and consular staff persona non grata and gave them four days to leave the country.
