Working in perilous conditions, the Plight of Journalists in Darfur

By: Ali Noureldin Abdulrahman

The current conditions of journalistic activity demonstrate the importance of the ability to work properly in times of conflict and instability.

Contemporary scholarly discourse has established that journalism plays an essential role in covering complex problems and tense situations in today’s world .

Journalism in wartime is crucial for informing the public, protecting civilians and promoting peace by exposing war crimes and human rights abuses to the international community.

However, journalists in war zones face significant dangers including detention and physical attacks, while their work is often complicated by widespread misinformation, especially on social media.

Today, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) published the story of a Sudanese journalist who had been detained by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since July.

Soldiers from the RSF detained journalist El-Rashid Mohammed Haroun from the Aradeba market in El-Genena , west Darfur, and held him in one of their detention centers without citing a reason for his arrest, according to a local journalist who is following the case and spoke to the CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal.

Last month, the RSF transferred Haroun to Dagres prison, southwest of Nyala in south Darfur, where he remains held without any formal accusation and barred his family from visiting him.

“The continued detention of Haroun by the RSF highlights the grave risks journalists in Darfur are facing to simply do their work,” said CPJ Middle East and North Africa regional director Sara Dudah.

She said “ the RSF must immediately and unconditionally release Haroun and end their practice of arbitrarily detaining journalists for their work.”