Mass Killings Reported after El Fasher Falls to RSF; Thousands Displaced

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized El Fasher last week, and rights groups, researchers and the World Health Organization say mass killings and widespread atrocities followed the city’s capture. Satellite imagery and on-the-ground videos analysed by Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab show large-scale killings and bodies in public spaces.

The WHO condemned the reported killing of hundreds of patients and their relatives at the Saudi Maternity Hospital in El Fasher, saying more than 460 people were killed and health workers abducted on 28 October.

Eyewitness videos and media reporting describe summary executions, house-to-house raids and targeted violence against non-Arab communities as the RSF consolidated control. Analysts warn the pace and scale of the violence echo earlier mass atrocities in Darfur and, in some comparisons, the initial phase of the Rwandan genocide.

The capture of El Fasher has driven fresh displacement across Darfur. Millions have been uprooted since the wider conflict began in April 2023; international agencies say tens of millions now require humanitarian assistance.

Humanitarian and rights groups have also pointed to evidence of external support networks that have bolstered the RSF’s capabilities, with investigations and media reports alleging links between the RSF and actors in the United Arab Emirates. The UAE has denied such claims.

Access for aid agencies and independent monitors remains severely limited amid communications blackouts and security risks, complicating efforts to verify the full scale of atrocities and to deliver life-saving assistance.