Brief: Armed Groups Territories in Sudan: Intensifying Arrest campaigns against activists & civilians

Sudan has effectively become a vast prison for activists and civilians, as the population faces an unprecedented assault on its civic and political rights. The fragmented security landscape has resulted in the division of the country into territories controlled by more than seven armed groups, each operating across different regions. In some areas, these territories are jointly administered by multiple armed groups, while in others a single group maintains control. As fighting intensified throughout the year, hundreds of civilians and activists were detained by various armed groups across Sudan. These detention campaigns have targeted activists, journalists, lawyers, local aid workers, and other professionals and civilians. The most common justification for arrest is an allegation of collaboration with the opposing side of the conflict in a given area. Activities such as using mobile phones, reporting news, posting on social media, or organizing workshops and public meetings are treated as threats to the authority of armed groups. Since the outbreak of war in 2023, Sudan has experienced a near-total closure of civic space.

Armed groups operate from Aljazeera to Darfur and extend to the borders with South Sudan and Ethiopia. They maintain their own detention centers and, in some cases, form joint security forces, such as the security cell established in areas controlled by the Sudanese Armed Forces, which includes several armed groups in northern and central Sudan. In certain regions, armed groups have brought activists and civilians before military courts or detained them incommunicado. Professional unions, including those representing teachers and doctors, face severe threats for organizing strikes or advocating for their rights. Merchants and small business owners are subjected to blackmail and detention, enabling armed groups to seize their property and accuse them of cooperating with rival forces in order to extort ransom payments.

The increasing militarization of civic life in Sudan has strengthened the ability of armed groups to suppress civic rights within their territories. Arrest campaigns across these areas share a common pattern: activists and civilians are blackmailed into silence and pressured to pay ransoms to secure their release or obtain improved detention conditions. These ransoms range from a few hundred to several thousand US dollars, depending on the location and circumstances. The detention of civilians and activists has become a widespread tool of looting employed by armed groups throughout the country, with detainees threatened with execution under accusations of treason or espionage. As a result, families are compelled to pay ransoms to protect their loved ones from the inhumane conditions that characterize detention facilities across Sudan.

This table below identify the locations of the armed groups and their territories:

This diagram show the formation of the security cell:

In the last 6 months, the arrests campaigns against civilians and activists intensified, below are few examples in the recent few weeks:

Alrayah Isam arrested by Sudan Sheild in Madani, Aljazeera state on August 2^nd, 2026. He was detained upon returning to the city after coverage of news. His whereabouts are unknown.

Ishraqa AbduAlrahman, Zahraa Mohamed , Mawahib Ibrahim, are journalists detained by RSF in Nayala, South Darfur on February 28^th, 2026. Their health conditions are deteriorating amid refusal to access medical care. They were detained with other women activists attending a workshop in Nayala. Some of the women were released while others still in detention.

Majda Hassan Almain, is detained in Nayala by RSF since February 2026, She is member in several human rights groups. There are other women professionals, such as pharmacists and other professionals detained in the city. local monitors reported several cases of harassment and investigations with women activists and humanitarian aid volunteers in the last 6 months.

Najawa Kunda is detained y SPLM/N in Tunja prison near Kadugli since April 1^st, 2026. She was presented to a military court in  July where upon accusation of sharing false information on social media. The SPLM/N military court sentenced her a year in prison. She is detained in inhumane conditions without access to family or legal aid.

On July 30^th, 2026, SPLM/N waged a new arrest campaign against activists and humanitarian aid workers operating in Aldar area at the border with South Sudan. At least 4 local activists and aid workers were detained. The 4 detainees were taken to SPLM/N intelligence and taken to unknown places.  Local monitors reported continued arrest campaigns in SPLM/N areas among activists, religious leaders and citizens in the last few weeks amid continued unrest within the controlled areas of the movement.

Local monitors reported continued incidents of arrests of civilians, including women and children, with special targeting of youth by SPLM/N forces. Civilians were mostly arrested while felling the famine and conflict in Kadugli and Dillinj through the controlled areas of SPLM/N trying to cross to South Sudan and Sudan. A woman who was fleeing Dillinj earlier this year said: “ We were 15 people; there was 4 children and 2 elderly men. We have been detained in Kauda for 15 days without access to our phones in very bad condition. We have been questioned about out intention to leave for SAF control areas, and if we will give information about the SPLM/N areas to the enemy. We had to pay a ransom of over 500 USD sent by our families abroad to get released.”

In Aldamzein city, in Blue Nile state, the security cell and other armed forces detained dozens of civilians and activists from streets and their homes in the last few weeks. Local activists and humanitarian volunteers reported continued harassment and investigation by the security cell in the city. Dozens of civilians were detained for taking photos or using mobile phones in public places. The security cell accused the detainees of spying and sending locations for drones targeting RSF. Some released detainees reported torture and inhumane treatment in detentions of the security cells. Dozens of civilians and activists remain in detentions as the security cell formal social media page announced the arrest campaign in the city citing “fighting negative trends.”

In Kabkabya in North Darfur, at least 8 civilians were detained under the cooperation accusations by RSF forces. The forces arrested dozens of civilians in the city amid accusations of collaboration with SAF. Detainees’ families reported arrests from homes and other places, as detainees held int eh intelligence offices of RSF in the city. Some of the detainees were released upon paying a ransom to RSF officers of more than 150 USD per person, where others remain detained.

The Sudanese teachers’ union has announced that their members in Aljazeera were threatened by chief of police following a strike in June 2026. The police threatened to take actions against the teachers who participated in the strike demanding better wages and working conditions.

The journalists of Darfur 24, a local news platform covering the situation in Darfur region, received serious threats from RSF and SPLA/ AbdAlwahid forces in July 2026. The local reporters of the platform were threatened due to their coverage of the situation in the joint controlled area of Tawila in north Darfur, where RSF and SPLA/ Abdlwahid share control and agreed to share collected incomes from administrative fees in the area. The threats put the lives of the local reporters at risk while they work to cover news in one of the most hostile and remote areas in Sudan.

In July 2026, the information crimes prosecutor office in PortSudan  issued arrest warrant against 47 journalists and media activists following publication or posting a report about the corruption of the government in PortSudan.

Recommendations for International Human Rights Mechanisms

• International human rights mechanisms should strengthen monitoring and documentation of violations committed by armed groups across Sudan, with particular focus on arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture, and extortion targeting civilians and activists.
• Relevant UN bodies, African Union mechanisms, and Special Procedures should issue urgent public communications demanding an immediate end to arbitrary arrests, the release of individuals detained without due process, and respect for fundamental civic and political rights.
• International community must increase funding and resources for local human rights defenders and rights groups to build their resilience to continue their work.
• Human rights mechanisms should advocate for unhindered humanitarian access to all territories controlled by armed groups, including access to detention facilities, to ensure independent medical, legal, and humanitarian assistance for detainees.
• International actors should establish and expand protection measures for at‑risk groups such as activists, journalists, lawyers, teachers, doctors, and local aid workers. These measures may include emergency relocation programs, temporary protection schemes, and enhanced digital and physical security support.
• Mechanisms should call for the cessation of practices that criminalize basic civic activities, including communication, reporting, community organizing, and participation in professional unions, and should urge armed groups to respect the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.
• International bodies should prioritize accountability for the systematic use of detention as a tool of looting and extortion. This includes documenting ransom payments, identifying responsible commanders, and ensuring that such abuses are incorporated into future transitional justice and accountability processes.
• Human rights mechanisms should emphasize that extortion, arbitrary detention, and threats of execution constitute grave violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, and should call for coordinated international pressure to halt these practices.
• International actors should encourage diplomatic efforts aimed at reducing militarization and supporting a political process that restores civilian governance. States with influence over armed groups should be urged to cease any support that enables further abuses and to promote the rebuilding of civic institutions capable of protecting rights.