Reuters
Civilians in al-Fashir were shot in the streets, struck by drone attacks and crushed by trucks, witnesses to the first days of the Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) takeover told Reuters, offering a glimpse into the violent capture of one of Sudan’s largest cities.
The fall of al-Fashir on October 26 cemented the RSF’s control of the Darfur region in its two-and-a-half-year war with the Sudanese army. Videos showing soldiers killing civilians on the city’s outskirts and reports of attacks on those trying to escape have prompted international alarm.
Less is known, however, about what transpired inside the city after telecommunications were cut at the start of the RSF offensive. Reuters spoke to three people who fled to al-Dabba, more than 1,000 km away in northern Sudan, and one person who went to nearby Tawila.
One witness, speaking by phone from Tawila and who asked not to be named for fear of retribution, said he and a group trying to flee heavy shelling were surrounded by RSF trucks. Fighters sprayed civilians with machine-gun fire and drove over people with their vehicles.
“Young people, elderly, children, they ran them over,” he said. He also reported abductions by RSF fighters.
An RSF leader told Reuters investigations were under way and that anyone proven to have committed abuses would be held accountable, adding that reports of violations in al-Fashir had been exaggerated by the army and its allies.
“Fifty or sixty killed in a single street”
The killings continued on the second day of the offensive, said another witness, Mubarak, now in al-Dabba. He said RSF fighters raided residential areas after capturing the army base the day before.
“Fifty or sixty people in a single street… they kill them bang, bang, bang. Then they would go to the next street, and again bang, bang, bang. That’s the massacre I saw in front of me,” Mubarak said. He added that many wounded or elderly people who remained in their homes were killed there.
Local resistance fighters, largely armed young men, were fighting in the streets, while army soldiers and allied forces were in bases or retreating. “They were the ones who died more,” he said.
Anyone on the street, he added, was vulnerable to drones and heavy gunfire. Al-Fashir residents have reported drones following civilians and targeting gatherings in recent months.
Another eyewitness, Abdallah, who also spoke to Reuters in al-Dabba, said he saw fleeing civilians targeted by drones and counted about 40 bodies in a single location in al-Fashir.
Reuters could not independently verify their accounts, though they broadly align with reports from aid officials, United Nations agencies and verified social media videos.
Satellite imagery and grave concerns
Satellite imagery analysed by Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab last week showed objects consistent with bodies in several parts of al-Fashir. The images also revealed earth disturbances suggestive of mass graves and the disappearance of objects and appearance of large vehicles consistent with movement of bodies, people or looting, the lab said. Imagery indicated the RSF had closed a main exit from the city toward the town of Garney.
U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said on Friday that traumatised civilians remained trapped in al-Fashir. “I fear that the abominable atrocities such as summary executions, rape and ethnically motivated violence are continuing,” he said.
On Thursday the RSF said it had accepted a proposal from the United States and Arab powers for a humanitarian ceasefire and was open to talks on a cessation of hostilities. Nonetheless, on Friday morning the paramilitary force launched drone attacks on the capital Khartoum and the city of Atbara, eyewitnesses said.
Both the RSF and the Sudanese army have repeatedly agreed to ceasefire proposals since the conflict began, but none have held. The war has produced widening pockets of famine, including in al-Fashir.
Treacherous escapes and disappearances
Those who managed to flee al-Fashir described perilous journeys marked by violent searches by RSF fighters, disappearances of men and kidnappings for ransom.
Umm Jumaa reached al-Dabba with four grandchildren but has been unable to locate two sons who are army soldiers, or her daughter. Before fleeing, she said she witnessed RSF fighters beating civilians to death. “Those who didn’t die, they would say, ‘finish them off, finish them off, this one isn’t dead, finish him off,’” she said.
