A South Sudanese refugee has died inside the Sudanese Military Intelligence detention centre in Sinja town of Sennar State after enduring a prolonged period of detention in harsh conditions.

The refugee has been identified as Ammar Ajak Deng.

Tahani Ajak, an activist and advocate for refugee affairs from South Sudan, told Radio Tamazuj Thursday that Ammar Deng passed away due to being detained for over six months in extremely dire conditions.

Ajak highlighted that there are over twenty refugees from South Sudan currently detained, stating, “Ammar was among those detained, all of whom hail from the Sudanese White Nile camps. They had left the camps to engage in agricultural projects for the harvest season since December 2023.”

Furthermore, she emphasized that Ammar, the breadwinner for his family, passed away within the confines of Sinja military garrison prisons, where other detainees have been held since December under profoundly challenging humanitarian circumstances.

She clarified that Ammar and his fellow refugees had departed from the camps to participate in their customary annual harvest season work, equipped with sickles rather than firearms. However, they were apprehended, leading to the tragic demise of Ammar Ajak.

Ajak passionately appealed to Sudanese authorities to release the remaining detainees, as their families are enduring catastrophic humanitarian conditions.

Military Intelligence officers in the area could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began battling each other in mid-April last year as tensions over plans for a new political transition.

The conflict has driven nearly 8.5 million people from their homes, creating the world's biggest displacement crisis, pushed parts of the 49-million population close to famine, and triggered waves of ethnically driven killings and sexual violence.