DARFUR, Sudan – Fears are growing of large-scale killings in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured the strategic city of el-Fasher, the military’s last stronghold in western Sudan.
Sudanese army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan confirmed late Monday that government troops had withdrawn from the city, citing what he described as “systematic destruction and killing of civilians” by RSF fighters.
The United Nations said it had received credible reports of “summary executions,” while researchers at Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab released satellite imagery showing what appeared to be “piles of bodies executed en masse.”
Nathaniel Raymond, the lab’s executive director, described the scale of atrocities as “unlike anything I’ve ever seen in a quarter century of doing this work.”
The RSF, however, has denied killing civilians or targeting non-Arab ethnic groups, accusations that have persisted since the group emerged from Darfur’s Janjaweed militias two decades ago.
‘Piles of bodies’ and mass executions
El-Fasher, home to hundreds of thousands of displaced people, had been under siege for 18 months before its fall last week.
The city’s capture is seen as a turning point in Sudan’s civil war, which has killed tens of thousands and forced nearly 12 million people to flee their homes since April 2023.
According to Yale researchers, new satellite imagery showed “piles of bodies executed en masse, or shot by snipers attempting to breach the city’s perimeter wall.”
A UN humanitarian team said it was “horrified” by reports of atrocities, including house-to-house killings, sexual violence, and attacks on civilians trying to flee.
The Joint Force, a coalition of Darfuri armed movements aligned with the army, claimed that more than 2,000 civilians had been killed since the RSF took over. That figure could not be independently verified.
Hospitals attacked, communication cut
The World Health Organization said the only partially functioning hospital in el-Fasher was attacked on Sunday, reportedly killing a nurse.
Communications with the city have been largely cut off, deepening fears for those trapped inside.
A man who managed to flee told the BBC that several members of his family were “massacred,” adding that he had lost all contact with surviving relatives.
“They were gathered in one place and all killed,” he said. “Now we have no idea what has happened to those who are still alive.”
Global outrage and calls for restraint
The European Union on Tuesday called for “all warring parties to de-escalate,” while the African Union condemned “alleged war crimes and ethnically targeted killings of civilians.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “gravely concerned” and urged both sides to respect international humanitarian law.
General Burhan, who has vowed to continue fighting, accused the international community of failing to stop RSF atrocities.
“We can turn the tables every time, and we can return every land desecrated by these traitors to the nation’s fold,” he said.
The fall of el-Fasher leaves the RSF in control of most of Darfur, further tilting the balance in a brutal conflict that has plunged Sudan into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
