Two journalists have been arrested in El Fasher, the war-scarred capital of North Darfur, by an armed faction led by a member of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, intensifying concerns over media repression in the conflict zone.
The journalists—Mohamed Ahmed Nazar, a former press director for a North Darfur governor, and Nasr Yacoub—were detained on Monday, July 7, by military intelligence operatives of the Sudan Liberation Movement–Transitional Council (SLM-TC) from Abu Shouk displacement camp. The SLM-TC, which operates as part of a joint force aligned with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), subsequently transferred them to a detention facility.
The arrests follow escalating tensions and direct threats against journalists in the region, where media practitioners face growing harassment amid protracted clashes between the SAF and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Only a day prior to his arrest, Yacoub survived an incident in which an SLM-TC officer fired a warning shot at his Starlink internet center, allegedly in retaliation for his refusal to suspend services without formal orders. In a statement, the SLM-TC accused Yacoub of insulting a security officer and violating internet operation rules, claiming the action was necessary to prevent RSF affiliates from transmitting sensitive military coordinates.
The crackdown reflects a broader strategy by the SLM-TC and affiliated security agencies to suppress perceived threats under the guise of security enforcement. The group has defended its strict oversight of internet services, asserting it is critical to averting infiltration and sabotage. While the authorities accuse the journalists of breaching directives, observers view the detentions as part of an ongoing campaign to silence independent reporting and suppress civilian access to information in a city caught in the throes of civil conflict.