CNN Reporter And Crew Held ‘Hostage’ In Sudan: Report

A CNN reporting team, led by Clarissa Ward, faced considerable danger while covering the crisis affecting over 100,000 displaced people in Tawila, Sudan, as she recounted in an interview with her network this week.

The team traveled to North Darfur intending to report on the worsening crisis, and reached Tawila, a refuge for those escaping the embattled city of El Fasher. However, their mission took an unexpected and dangerous turn when a local militia briefly detained Ward and her team, according to her account.

The Darfur conflict, which began in 2003, stemmed from ethnic tensions, resource competition, and political unrest. Rebel groups, such as the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), accused the Sudanese government of marginalization and neglect, which led to a severe military response.

Commonly seen as a conflict between non-Arab groups and the Arab-led government, the fighting has caused around 300,000 deaths and displaced millions. Despite international interventions, including the UN-African Union peacekeeping mission and the 2020 Juba Peace Agreement, violence in the region continues.

The political landscape of Sudan remains fragile after a 2019 revolution and a military coup in 2021, fueling further clashes that have destabilized Darfur and endangered millions of civilians.

Ward’s team was dispatched to draw attention to the often-overlooked crisis in Sudan, where over 10 million people have been forced to flee their homes, making up nearly a quarter of the nation's population. Additionally, more than 26 million people are currently facing severe hunger.

Upon arriving at Abu Gamra, where they were scheduled to meet local contacts, the team was instead confronted by an opposing militia, heavily armed with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns mounted on Toyota Land Cruiser trucks.

Their driver was taken away in chains and jailed locally. For hours, the team was subjected to intense questioning in a small, windowless room. Interrogators demanded answers such as, “Why are you here?” “Who sent you here?” and “Who gave you permission to be here?” Ward shared.

Eventually, their driver was returned, unshackled and unharmed, but the team was taken deeper into Darfur under militia control.

At one point, they were brought to a dry riverbed, where they were forced to sit in front of a general and a security chief, whose authority was signaled by his turban and dark sunglasses, according to the report.

“Please, we are very frightened,” Ward told them in Arabic. “I am a mother. I have three little boys.”

The general responded, “Don’t be frightened, don’t be frightened. We are human beings.”

The situation escalated, however, when the security chief demanded the phone numbers of the team’s family members, allegedly to ensure their safety. Reluctantly, Ward provided her husband’s number, fearing the stress it would cause but hoping it would help validate her claims.

Unbeknownst to them, someone fluent in English contacted their loved ones from Port Sudan, far from their actual location, to assure them the team was safe while subtly threatening long-term imprisonment if the situation were disclosed.

For 48 hours, the team remained under close watch by the general, security chief, and about a dozen soldiers, many of whom appeared alarmingly young. As the only woman, Ward faced added challenges, including limited access to food and water due to the lack of privacy.

On their final day in captivity, the general and security chief left for six hours, leaving the team in the hands of younger soldiers. They were ordered to unload their belongings from their vehicle, under the pretense that the driver needed to go to the market, Ward recounted.

This heightened the team’s anxiety, fearing they might be abandoned or handed over to another group. Despite their concerns, they complied.

In the end, the team was told, “It has been decided you will be released tomorrow. We thought you were spies, but now you can go home.”