New Delhi, Dec. 12 -- In the besieged city of El Fasher, the last major stronghold in Sudan's Darfur region, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have turned desperation into a currency of death. Families face an unimaginable choice: pay ransoms for loved ones kidnapped in broad daylight, or watch as paramilitaries execute those unable to comply. This grim economy of extortion unfolds amid a civil war that has now reached its 970th day, claiming tens of thousands of lives and displacing millions more.

The Washington Post has detailed harrowing accounts from El Fasher, where RSF fighters snatch civilians from streets and homes, demanding payments in cash, gold, or livestock, weaponising kidnapping as a core tactic of control. Those who cannot p...