Sudanese reporters urge army, RSF to end media violations, war

Sudanese media personnel issued a statement on Tuesday urging the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to end violations against the press.

Journalists, editors and other media professionals also urged the warring parties to facilitate access to conflict areas, allowing journalists to safely carry out their work.

Media professionals are unable to move between or within battle zones for press coverage due to a lack of protection and the rival parties’ disregard for press freedom, the statement said.

The joint statement was issued by the likes of the Sudanese Journalists’ Syndicate, the Journalists for Human Rights NGO, the heads of the Al-Tayyar, Al-Youm Al-Tali and Al-Jarida newspapers, as well as the directors of several radio stations.

"After four months of war, Sudanese journalists are suffering under the fire of both parties amid the conflict, besieged by accusations of treason, collusion and loyalty to this and that party, and are threatened with detention, arbitrary arrest or enforced disappearance," the statement read.

The conflict, triggered by a power struggle between Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, broke out in mid-April and has killed over 3,000 people.

More than 4 million people have been displaced internally and externally, with many escaping to neighbouring Chad and Egypt.

"During this period, male and female journalists were killed, injured and arrested, while their homes, belongings and media equipment were looted," the statement further said. "A number of journalists have also fled into neighbouring countries, with some of them leaving the profession all together and disappearing off the radar."

They further stressed that female journalists in Sudan are particularly vulnerable due to gender-based violence.

The media professionals went on to demand that journalists should be able to move freely with their equipment and without harassment or restrictions. They also called for a halt on all forms of threats and assaults on them.

Additionally, they urged the Sudanese army and the RSF to end all hostilities and to open up humanitarian corridors.

The fighting, which has been mostly concentrated in Khartoum, Omdurman and Khartoum North (Bahri), has spilled over to the western Darfur regions, where the RSF has been accused of carrying out war crimes.

The clashes have led to a media blackout in the country's conflict zones, with many media organisations abandoned or targeted.