OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A CNN reporting team led by Clarissa Ward encountered significant dangers while documenting the plight of over 100,000 displaced individuals in Tawila, Sudan, she told her network during an interview this week.
The team, which arrived in North Darfur with the aim of covering the escalating crisis, made their way to Tawila—a sanctuary for those fleeing the besieged city of El Fasher. Their mission took an unexpected and perilous turn when a local militia briefly detained Ward and her team, she said.
The conflict in Darfur, Sudan, began in 2003, ignited by ethnic tensions, competition for resources, and political struggles. Two rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), accused the government of discrimination and neglect, leading to a harsh military response.
Often viewed as an ethnic clash between non-Arab groups and the Arab-dominated government, the conflict has resulted in an estimated 300,000 deaths and millions of people displaced. Despite international intervention, including a UN-African Union peacekeeping mission and the 2020 Juba Peace Agreement, violence continues.
Political instability following a 2019 revolution there followed by a 2021 coup has exacerbated recent clashes, leaving Darfur unstable and millions of civilians at risk.
.@clarissaward, @BrentSwailsCNN & @scottycnn traveled to Darfur to report on the humanitarian crisis, but when they arrived they were detained by a militia and held for 48 hrs
Their story & what they learned while there: https://t.co/HJsTey7VBs
— Alayna Treene (@alaynatreene) October 24, 2024
Ward’s team was sent to highlight the underreported crisis in Sudan, where over 10 million people have been displaced—almost a quarter of the country’s population. Furthermore, more than 26 million people are experiencing acute hunger.
Upon reaching the designated meeting point in Abu Gamra, the team was surprised to find not their expected hosts, but a rival militia armed with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns mounted on Toyota Land Cruiser trucks.
The team’s driver was taken away in chains to the local jail. For hours, team members endured a barrage of questions in a cramped, windowless room. Interrogators demanded, “Why are you here?” “Who sent you here?” and “Who gave you permission to be here?” Ward reported.
The team said that eventually, their driver was returned, unchained and unharmed, but they were all taken deeper into Darfur.
Later, the team was halted by a dry riverbed, where they were made to sit before a general and a security chief, distinguished by his turban and eye-covering sunglasses, in a display of power and control, the report said.
“Please, we are very frightened,” Ward told the men in Arabic. “I am a mother. I have three little boys.”
“Don’t be frightened, don’t be frightened,” the general replied, “We are human beings.”
However, the situation escalated when the security chief demanded the personal phone numbers of the team’s loved ones, claiming it was to ensure their safety. Reluctantly, Ward provided her husband’s number, anxious about the stress it might cause but hopeful it would help verify her story.
Unbeknownst to them, an English speaker contacted their spouses from Port Sudan, far removed from their actual location, assuring them of their safety while also threatening long-term imprisonment if the incident was revealed.
For the next 48 hours, the team was monitored closely by the general, the security chief, and about a dozen soldiers, some of whom were alarmingly young. The journalist, being the only woman, faced additional challenges, including restricted access to food and water due to the lack of privacy.
On their last day of captivity, the general and security chief left for six hours, leaving the journalists in the care of younger fighters who instructed the journalists to unload their belongings from the vehicle, claiming they needed to take the driver to the market, Ward revealed.
This raised concerns among the team about the possibility of being abandoned or handed over to another group, but they nevertheless complied.
“It has been decided you will be released tomorrow,” Ward said the crew was eventually told. “We thought you were spies, but now you can go home.”
