Sudan: Concerns over RSF mass execution of civilians in El-Fasher

On Tuesday, the Sudanese army allies, the Joint Forces, accused paramilitaries, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), of having “executed more than 2,000 unarmed civilians” since taking control of the western city of El-Fasher on Sunday, as alarming reports of atrocities emerge. Some reports claimed the militia group had killed over 3000 civilians as of Monday […]

On Tuesday, the Sudanese army allies, the Joint Forces, accused paramilitaries, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), of having “executed more than 2,000 unarmed civilians” since taking control of the western city of El-Fasher on Sunday, as alarming reports of atrocities emerge.

Some reports claimed the militia group had killed over 3000 civilians as of Monday evening.

The RSF, at war with the army for over two years, “committed heinous crimes against innocent civilians in the city of El-Fasher, where more than 2,000 unarmed citizens were executed and killed on October 26 and 27, most of them women, children and the elderly”, the Joint Forces said in a statement on Tuesday.

Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab said on Monday it had found “evidence consistent with Rapid Support Forces (RSF) conducting alleged mass killings after capturing El-Fasher, North Darfur, according to satellite imagery analysis”.

A statement by Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, on Monday, said, “The militia has carried out, and continues to carry out, acts of ethnically motivated killing and systematic terror against unarmed civilians, including women, children, and the elderly, in shocking scenes proudly and shamelessly documented by the perpetrators themselves, revealing their criminal nature that thrives on bloodshed and terrorism.

“The Dagalo terrorist militia had long planned this genocide through the siege and starvation of the residents of El-Fasher for over two and a half years, culminating today in a horrific massacre that adds yet another chapter to the militia’s dark record of atrocities and violations extending from the city of El Geneina to the villages and countryside of Al-Jazira State.

The government said it had repeatedly warned the international community about the dangers of silence and inaction, and had called for the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution No. 2736 (2024).

It expressed regret that the absence of international political will had emboldened the militia, “granting it the green light to defy international law and divine principles, and to continue shedding innocent blood, destroying cities, and violating the dignity of honourable citizens”.

It condemned what it described as the politicisation of the Sudanese crisis, and the bias of certain states in the pursuit of their narrow political and economic interests, rather than adopting a moral and humanitarian stance, which it said has directly contributed to the massacre in El-Fasher.

“Its innocent residents have thus become victims of the failure of international will and of the double standards that deny Sudanese citizens justice and human rights that the international community so often claims to uphold,” the government lamented.

While mourning the victims of the El-Fasher massacre, it said “the Sudanese Armed Forces, with all regular forces in their various formations and with the full support of the Sudanese people, will continue to fulfil their constitutional duty to protect the nation’s citizens, defend the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of the country, and will employ all legitimate means to deter this terrorist militia, restore security and stability, and achieve a just and lasting peace that meets the aspirations of the Sudanese people throughout the whole country”.

UN, AU raise alarm

The UN’s top humanitarian official has called for an immediate ceasefire in El Fasher amid reports of significant civilian deaths, attacks on hospitals and the city’s reported capture by the RSF.

Tom Fletcher, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, said he was “deeply alarmed” by reports of civilian casualties and forced displacement as fierce fighting engulfed the city.

“With fighters pushing further into the city and escape routes cut off, hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped and terrified – shelled, starving, and without access to food, healthcare or safety,” Mr Fletcher said in a statement on Sunday.

He called for “an immediate ceasefire in El Fasher, across Darfur and throughout Sudan,” stressing that civilians must be allowed safe passage and humanitarian workers must be protected.

“Safe, rapid, and unimpeded humanitarian access must be allowed to reach all civilians in need,” he said. “We have lifesaving supplies ready, but intensified attacks have made it impossible for us to get aid in. Local humanitarian workers continue to save lives under fire.”

Mr Fletcher condemned the continued targeting of civilians, hospitals and humanitarian operations, urging all parties to respect international law.

“Those responsible for violations of international humanitarian and human rights law must be held to account,” he said.

He also reiterated the obligations set out under Security Council resolution 2736 (2024), which demands an end to the siege of El Fasher, the protection of civilians and unhindered humanitarian access across Sudan.

In the same vein, the African Union chairman condemned on Tuesday alleged “atrocities” and reported “war crimes” in Sudan’s strategic hub of El-Fasher and called for an immediate halt to fighting.

African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf “expresses deep concern over the escalating violence and reported atrocities” in El-Fasher, said a statement on X, condemning “alleged war crimes and ethnically targeted killings of civilians”.

He also called for an “immediate cessation of hostilities and the opening of humanitarian corridors to allow life-saving aid to reach affected populations”.

‘RSF violations exceed previous wars’

A report by the National Committee to Investigate Crimes and Violations of National and International Humanitarian Law by the RSF militia revealed the killing of 30,267 people and the injury of 43,575 others.

These injuries are described as serious, as the militia was accused of having committed widespread violations, including extrajudicial killings, forced displacement, rape, and looting of property in the states of Al-Jazirah, Sinnar, North and West Kordofan, Khartoum, West and South Darfur, and White Nile.

The Committee documented serious violations against women, girls, and children, including various forms of sexual violence, forced recruitment, and forced displacement.

It said the militia also used the siege of cities as a weapon to starve and kill civilians, targeting the cities of El Fasher, Kadugli, and Deling, where it prevented humanitarian aid and food supplies by intercepting convoys provided by United Nations organisations.

“So, it proceeded to loot them and burned what remained of them in public… in a blatant challenge to the international community.

“It also took a step that shames humanity, as the militia invaded the Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps for the displaced, in a precedent that is the first in the history of humanity. They killed the residents of the displacement camps in front of the cameras of the international media, and the testimony of members of international organisations that supervise the care of the displaced people in those camps,” it added.

 

The committee confirmed the involvement of foreign parties in supporting the militia with weapons and equipment and recruiting mercenaries, which contributed to the exacerbation of violations, fueling the war and deepening the humanitarian crisis, in addition to destroying vital infrastructure, causing economic damage initially estimated at 771 billion dollars.