CNN correspondent Clarissa Ward revealed that she and her team were detained by a militia for two days while covering Darfur earlier this month.
The 44-year-old veteran war correspondent traveled to Sudan to cover the civil war that has sparked a humanitarian crisis as more than 26 million people face famine.
In an article she wrote for CNN, Ward said she and her team were detained by a militia led by a man she called “The General,” just hours after arriving in North Darfur.
CNN’s Clarissa Ward with her cameraman Scott McWhinnie and one of their captors after being told they would be released. CNN
Ward, photographer Scott McQueen, and producer Brent Swales were inside a car when armed fighters surrounded them and angrily told them not to film at the scene.
An incoming producer tried to defuse the situation but the general grabbed a rifle and fired a shot – apparently targeting a bird.
“I was relieved that the gun was not pointed at us, but I was still disturbed by his erratic behavior,” Ward wrote of the frightening experience.
The journalist said that she was invited to the city of Tawila by a faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement, a neutral party in the civil war.
The 44-year-old veteran war correspondent traveled to Sudan to cover the civil war that has sparked a humanitarian crisis as more than 26 million people face famine. AFP via Getty Images Ward said she and her team were arrested by a militia led by a man he called “The General,” just hours after they arrived in North Darfur. The picture shows a militia force in the Sudanese state of Darfur. AFP via Getty Images
When she and her team arrived at the agreed upon meeting point in the town of Abu Qamra, they were met by a rival militia and two trucks carrying rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns.
The team’s driver was taken in chains to the city jail and the crew were interrogated individually for three hours in a “small, windowless room.”
After interrogation, Ward and her team were placed in their car and ordered to follow a convoy that was heading deep into Darfur.
After interrogation, Ward said that she and her team were put in their car and ordered to follow a convoy that was heading deep into Darfur. AFP via Getty Images
When the general fired his weapon again and shouted at the crew, Ward wrote, she pleaded with him, “I’m a mother.” I have three young boys.”
Ward said the security chief told them not to be afraid and asked the CNN team for their loved ones’ phone numbers so he could assure them they were okay.
The militia then called the crew’s relatives and said they were fine, while threatening that they could be detained for many years if they told anyone about the situation.
Ward said the security chief told them not to be afraid and asked the CNN team for their loved ones’ phone numbers so he could assure them they were okay. x/@clarissaward
The crew was then detained for two days under the surveillance of armed men, some as young as 14, Ward wrote.
After 48 hours, the general informed the CNN team that they would be released, saying: “We thought you were spies but now you can go home.”
“A wave of relief crashed through my body,” Ward said. “There were smiles and handshakes with our captors. We posed awkwardly for a photo on the edge of the mat that served as our makeshift prison.
The war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces broke out in April 2023 in the capital, Khartoum, and has spread across the country since then. Darfur has witnessed particularly fierce fighting.
The United Nations estimates that nearly 20,000 people have been killed and thousands injured since the start of the conflict.
