Fears of mass killings are rising in Sudan after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured the strategic city of el-Fasher in the Darfur region. The development marks a major turning point in Sudan’s brutal civil war, which has killed tens of thousands and displaced nearly 12 million people since April 2023.
Sudan’s military chief, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, confirmed on Monday that the army had withdrawn from el-Fasher, citing “systematic destruction and killing of civilians.” The United Nations reported credible evidence of summary executions, while Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab said satellite imagery showed “piles of bodies executed en masse” within the city.
Nathaniel Raymond, the lab’s executive director, described the scenes as the most horrifying he has seen in 25 years, noting visible “pools of blood” in satellite images. The RSF, however, has denied accusations of targeting civilians or non-Arab ethnic groups, despite mounting evidence from human rights organisations.
For 18 months, RSF fighters besieged el-Fasher, trapping hundreds of thousands of civilians and worsening a severe hunger crisis. Since the city’s fall, residents who escaped have told the BBC that they have lost contact with relatives still trapped inside. One survivor recounted that several family members were “massacred” as communication lines were severed following the RSF takeover.
The Joint Force, a coalition of Darfuri armed groups supporting the army, claims that around 2,000 civilians have been killed, though this figure remains unverified. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the only functioning hospital in the city was attacked on Sunday, killing a nurse.
The European Union and African Union have both called for de-escalation and condemned the alleged atrocities. Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed grave concern over the crisis, urging adherence to international humanitarian law as the world watches the worsening tragedy unfold in Sudan.
