'Our Mission Involves Solely Killing' - The Way Sudan's Ruthless Fighting Force Conducted a Massacre

Alert: This Story Presents Disturbing Descriptions of Shootings.

Militiamen laugh as they travel on the back of a utility vehicle, speeding alongside a series of nine corpses and driving towards the descending Sudanese evening sky.

"See such work. Observe this mass destruction," a fighter exclaims.

The individual beams as he directs the camera on himself and his fellow fighters, their paramilitary insignia clearly shown: "These people shall all perish in this manner."

The men are celebrating a atrocity that relief organizations fear resulted in the deaths of in excess of 2,000 civilians in the Sudan's city of the Darfur city in recent weeks.

An Urban Center Isolated from the World

After maintaining the city under encirclement for approximately two years, from August the militia proceeded to strengthen its dominance and blockade the remaining civilian population.

Space-based imagery show that fighters began to erect a massive sand wall - a raised dirt embankment - around the boundaries of al-Fashir, sealing off roads and halting aid.

While the blockade escalated, seventy-eight civilians were murdered in an militia assault on a religious building on mid-September, while the UN said dozens further were killed in aerial and artillery strikes on a refugee settlement in fall.

Disturbing Video Reveals Weaponless People Executed

In the early morning on late October the paramilitary force defeated the last army defenses and took control of the primary headquarters in the city, the command center of the Army Division, as the army pulled back.

One of the most disturbing recordings to appear and examined depicted the aftermath of a massacre at a campus structure on the western side of the urban area, where scores dead bodies were observed spread over the area.

An older person wearing a traditional garment sat by himself amongst the corpses. The individual looked to glance as a militiaman carrying with a weapon moved down the stairs towards the victim. Raising his weapon, the fighter released a single shot at the victim, who fell to the surface still.

"Why is this individual still alive," another fighter cried. "Shoot this one."

Orbital photography taken on 26 October seemed to substantiate that shootings were furthermore carried out on the roads of el-Fasher, according to a report published by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab.

One witness who spoke reported they had witnessed "multiple of our kin getting massacred - the victims were collected in one place and all eliminated."

Paramilitary Officers Seek to Carry Out Reputation Management

In the days that followed the atrocity, paramilitary chief conceded that his fighters had perpetrated "wrongdoings" and said the incidents would be investigated.

Part of the detained was after a analysis detailing his executions. Deliberately staged and edited video shared on the paramilitary's official Telegram channel reveal him being led into a prison room at a jail on the perimeter of el-Fasher.

At the same time, the RSF and connected online profiles began trying to reframe the story.

Updates presenting its combatants providing supplies to civilians were circulated by various individuals, while the militia's public relations unit shared numerous recordings purporting to show the humane management of army captives.

In spite of the digital initiative being deployed by the RSF, their activities in el-Fasher have sparked international outrage.

Danielle Burnett
Danielle Burnett

A passionate gamer and content creator with years of experience in strategy guides and community engagement.