70 Health Workers and 5,000 Civilians Detained in Nyala Sudan, WHO: Very Worried

RSF Sudan forces. (doc. Paramilitaries Wiki-Lt. Commander Nicholas)

JAKARTA - The World Health Organization (WHO) expressed concern over reports of the detention of more than 70 health workers and about 5,000 civilians in Nyala, southwest Sudan.

Since April 2023, Sudan's regular army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been engaged in a brutal conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 12 million people, and destroyed infrastructure.

"We are concerned by reports from Nyala, the capital of the South Darfur state in Sudan, that more than 70 health workers have been forcibly detained along with about 5,000 civilians," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on his X account @DrTedros, Wednesday, December 17.

"According to the Sudanese Doctors Network, the detainees are held in cramped and unhealthy conditions, and there are reports of disease outbreaks," he continued.

"Kami prihatin dengan laporan dari Nyala, ibu kota negara bagian Darfur Selatan Sudan, bahwa lebih dari 70 petugas kesehatan ditahan secara paksa bersama dengan sekitar 5.000 warga sipil.

According to the Sudan Doctors Network, the detainees are being held in cramped and unhealthy… pic.twitter.com/oLUSvP5ihj

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) December 16, 2025

RSF and the faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North allied earlier this year, forming a coalition based in Nyala.

"WHO is gathering more information about the detention and the conditions of those detained. The situation is complicated by ongoing insecurity," said Tedros.

"The reports of the detention of health workers and thousands of others are very worrying. Health workers and civilians must be protected at all times and we call for their safe and unconditional release," he continued.

WHO calculates and verifies attacks on health facilities in Sudan. However, WHO does not blame any party because it is not an investigative body.

The WHO recorded 65 attacks on health facilities in Sudan this year, resulting in 1,620 deaths and 276 injuries. Of these attacks, 54 affected personnel, 46 affected facilities, and 33 affected patients.