RSF members reportedly detaining a fighter known as Abu Lulu (L) in El-Fasher, in war-torn Sudan’s western Darfur region. In a statement late on October 30, the RSF said it had detained several fighters accused of “violations that occurred during the liberation” of the city, including Lulu who appeared in multiple videos on his TikTok committing summary executions. Photo: Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Handout / AFP / Lehtikuva
At least 2,000 civilians have been killed in Sudan’s western city of el-Fasher after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized control from the army, according to medical groups and international monitors.
The RSF, which emerged from the Janjaweed militia, launched its final assault on the city after an 18-month siege. El-Fasher was the last major military stronghold in Darfur. The Sudanese army withdrew on Sunday, conceding the city’s fall.
The RSF has denied targeting civilians, but videos posted by its own fighters appear to show summary executions, celebrations over corpses, and raids on civilian areas.
BBC Verify and the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab confirmed the authenticity of several clips. In one video, a man identified as “Abu Lulu” was seen laughing while executing unarmed detainees. Later footage released by the RSF shows him being led into custody and locked inside a solitary cell in Shala Prison.
TikTok has since removed the account linked to Abu Lulu for breaching guidelines on criminal behaviour.
The Sudan Doctors Network reported that more than 1,500 people were killed in the days following the city’s capture. It described the events as “a true genocide”. The government’s humanitarian wing has confirmed over 2,000 deaths and accused RSF fighters of entering mosques and executing volunteers.
The World Health Organization said more than 460 people were killed inside the Saudi Maternity Hospital, including staff, patients, and their companions.
General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, RSF’s leader, has acknowledged “violations” by his forces and announced an internal investigation. “Any soldier or officer who committed a crime… will be immediately arrested,” he said in a video statement.
Observers, however, question the RSF’s internal discipline and whether senior commanders control field units. Aid organisations say past promises of accountability went unfulfilled.
Satellite images analysed by Yale show multiple red discolourations and clusters of objects consistent with human remains across el-Fasher. These sites appeared between 24 and 48 hours after the city fell.
International coverage has been limited by a communications blackout and media restrictions. Much of the documentation has relied on open-source imagery and witness accounts from survivors who fled to Tawila, north of the city.
A woman who escaped described RSF fighters separating civilians by gender at an earthen barrier before shooting the men.
Another survivor said: “They were going house to house, pulling people out and killing them.”
The RSF, now in full control of Darfur’s major urban centres, faces accusations of attempting to cleanse indigenous non-Arab communities through forced displacement and mass killings.
Yale’s latest report states that entire districts in el-Fasher were subjected to systematic violence, including arson, sexual violence, executions, and destruction of essential infrastructure.
Doctors Without Borders documented a similar pattern in the Zamzam displaced persons camp earlier this year, where RSF fighters reportedly killed 2,000 people during an operation that left the camp of half a million residents destroyed.
Since the civil war began in April 2023, the conflict has displaced over 12 million people and killed tens of thousands. Both the RSF and the Sudanese military face accusations of war crimes and ethnically motivated violence.
Aid workers describe the current violence as an extension of the 2003 Darfur genocide. “This is not new,” Emi Mahmoud, director of the IDP Humanitarian Network, told the BBC. “We’ve seen this pattern before.”
The United Nations, African Union, European Union, and several governments have condemned the killings. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Turkiye, and Jordan issued separate statements calling for an end to hostilities and access for humanitarian aid.
Pressure is mounting on the United Arab Emirates, which has been accused of supplying weapons to the RSF. A leaked UN report said flights from UAE military bases to Chad may have helped arm RSF fighters across the border.
The UAE denies involvement.
The RSF previously served in the Yemen war, recruiting fighters for the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Sudanese gold exports have also increasingly flowed to the UAE, according to trade and human rights monitors.
Experts fear the fall of el-Fasher will accelerate the RSF’s advance toward eastern Sudan, where new fronts could emerge in North Kordofan and beyond.
Ahmed Ibrahim, a former official in Sudan’s transitional government, told Al Jazeera that the conflict is not only a power struggle between generals. “This is part of a geopolitical attempt to restructure the region,” he said.
Despite warnings from activists and human rights groups, no coordinated international response has emerged.
Source: BBC Verify, The Guardian, Al Jazeera
HT