Aid group says Sudan staff coerced into making RSF propaganda video

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) employees in Sudan were coerced into making a propaganda video in favour of the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the aid group said on Saturday.
The MSF convoy was stopped as it was leaving a warehouse, according to the organization. "The RSF asked us to make a statement on camera about the RSF's approach to the case and we were obliged to do so, so that our convoy could continue its journey."
The RSF, a paramilitary made up of militias with tens of thousands of fighters, has been fighting the Sudanese army since mid-April.
The RSF released a video on Friday showing a uniformed man with a group of MSF personnel. "Have you been the subject of illegal acts, extortion, threats or violence by RSF personnel?" the man asks, the subtitles say.
One staff member replies that humanitarian laws are respected and that they are able to work without interference from any party.
However, MSF and other aid workers have repeatedly complained of looting and attacks since the conflict broke out.
"MSF teams responded to the questions reaffirming MSF's humanitarian principles: we are not allied with any of the parties to the conflict and our sole objective is to support conflict-affected populations in need of medical assistance," MSF said. "Vital humanitarian assistance must not be instrumentalized."
By early June, there were 48 confirmed attacks on health workers, according to the World Health Organization.
Sudan's army, led by de facto president Abdel Fattah al-Burhan is fighting the RSF led by al-Burhan's former deputy, Mohammed Hamdan Daglo after a power struggle escalated between the two generals. They had originally seized power together in 2021.