Caution: This narrative includes graphic descriptions of executions.
Combatants laugh while riding in the back of a pickup truck, racing past a series of nine corpses as they head toward the setting sun in Sudan.
“Observe all this work. This is genocide,” one exclaims.
He beams as he points the camera at himself and his fellow combatants, showing off their Rapid Support Forces (RSF) insignias: “They shall all meet the same fate.”
These individuals celebrate a massacre that humanitarian authorities fear resulted in the deaths of over 2,000 individuals in el-Fasher, Sudan, last month. On Monday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced it was probing whether the paramilitary may have engaged in “war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
El-Fasher was a prime target for the RSF. It was the last bastion in Darfur held by the Sudanese military – with which the RSF has fought a catastrophic conflict since their ruling alliance collapsed in 2023.
Over 150,000 people are believed to have perished due to the conflict over the last two years, and both factions are accused of numerous war crimes – many of which were repeated by the RSF following the fall of el-Fasher.
A city isolated from the outside world
Having besieged the city for nearly two years, the RSF began in August to solidify its grip and block off the remaining civilian population.
Satellite imagery reveals that troops commenced constructing a massive embankment – a raised sand barrier – around the border of el-Fasher, sealing access routes and obstructing aid. By early October, this barrier had entirely encircled the city – with a smaller blockade surrounding an adjacent village.
As the siege escalated, 78 individuals were killed in an RSF assault on a mosque on 19 September, while the UN reported that 53 additional people were killed due to drone and artillery strikes on a displacement camp in October.
Videos provided to BBC Verify suggested that the RSF attempted to enforce a blockade of food and vital supplies. Footage from October displays a man whose hands and feet are tied behind him, hanging upside down from a tree with metal chains. The individual recording the scene accused him of attempting to smuggle goods into the besieged city.
“I swear to God you will face consequences, you dog,” he yelled, before demanding that the captive plead for his existence.
Meanwhile, the RSF advanced into the city, engaging in frantic street-to-street combat.
Shocking footage captures shootings of unarmed civilians
By dawn on 26 October, the RSF overpowered the last army positions and took control of the principal military base in the city, the headquarters of the 6th Infantry Division, as military forces retreated.
Soldiers were filmed laughing while exploring the deserted headquarters, wielding a grenade launcher. Later that day, RSF leader Abdul Rahim Dagalo – sibling of RSF chief Mohammad ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo – was observed evaluating the base.
The RSF – which originated from the Janjaweed militia that killed countless individuals in Darfur from 2003-2005 – has long faced allegations of atrocities against non-Arab groups throughout Sudan. Videos shared online suggested that paramilitary fighters aimed to inflict violence on the civilian populace in el-Fasher.
Before the paramilitary’s takeover of el-Fasher, very few details had surfaced from the city for months. However, mere hours after the military’s collapse, videos showcasing the atrocities carried out by the RSF began circulating online, breaking the silence surrounding the city.
Among the most graphic videos analyzed by BBC Verify depicted the aftermath of a massacre at a university building on the western side of the city, with dozens of lifeless bodies sprawled across the floor.
An elderly man clad in a white tunic sat alone amid the corpses. He turned to gaze as a fighter brandishing a rifle approached him down the stairs. As the gunman raised his weapon, he discharged a single shot at the man, who immediately fell to the ground motionless. Other soldiers, undeterred by the act, soon noticed another man’s leg twitching amidst the pile of bodies.
“Why is this one still alive?” one of the fighters shouted. “Finish him off.”
Satellite imagery from 26 October reportedly corroborated that executions were also performed on the streets of el-Fasher, according to a report issued by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab.
Analysts from the lab pointed out significant “clusters” visible in the imagery, which they noted appeared to match the size range of adult human bodies and were absent in earlier visuals. It also highlighted “discoloration” that the report suggested could have been caused by human blood.
One eyewitness recounted to the BBC having seen “numerous relatives being slaughtered – they were gathered together and executed.”
Another observer remembered witnessing a woman being shot after the RSF “hit her in the chest” and then discarding her body “after taking all her valuables.”
While the principal RSF contingent wreaked havoc in el-Fasher, a different set of fighters lingered on the outskirts, where they executed several unarmed prisoners.
Most of this brutality transpired at a location approximately 8km (5 miles) from el-Fasher. Verified clips show dozens of deceased individuals in civilian clothing – including what appear to be women – lying in a trench along the border of the RSF’s constructed sand berm.
Other footage reveals scenes of devastation, with raging fires and charred vehicle remains scattered across the landscape. Videos from the area depict bodies strewn among the vehicles.
A notable figure in the violence has previously been identified by BBC Verify as an RSF commander known as Abu Lulu online. He was witnessed executing unarmed captives in two videos, while an eyewitness informed the BBC that he “issued orders to his men to eliminate numerous innocents, including children.”
One clip depicted an RSF soldier trying to intervene as Abu Lulu was about to execute an injured individual, while the captive implored: “I recognize you. I called upon you a few days ago.”
Abu Lulu disregarded the man’s entreaties with a gesture of his hands, announcing: “I will show no mercy. Our sole mission is killing.” After casually aiming his rifle, the soldier unleashed a barrage of bullets that penetrated the unarmed man.
Another recording depicted him executing a group of nine unarmed captives. Footage that surfaced days later showed the bodies remaining where they had fallen – still arranged execution-style and lying on the dusty ground of Darfur.
Numerous individuals linked to the killings donned RSF insignias, including the group that later reveled in the massacre, calling it a “genocide.”
RSF leaders attempt damage control
In the aftermath of the massacre, RSF chief Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo acknowledged that his forces had committed “violations” and stated that the incidents would be examined. A senior UN official remarked last week that the RSF had informed them about the detention of some suspects within their ranks.
Among those apprehended was Abu Lulu following a report by BBC Verify documenting his killings. Carefully curated and edited footage shared on the RSF’s official Telegram account depicts him being escorted into a detention cell at a prison located on the outskirts of el-Fasher.
Analysts from Yale also accused the RSF of “engaging in a clean-up of their purported mass atrocities.” A report released on 4 November indicated that satellite imagery shows the removal “of items consistent with bodies from a site north of RSF’s berm” and identified burial sites near the pediatric hospital in el-Fasher.
BBC Verify evaluated white items discerned in the hospital courtyard on 30 October to range from 1.6m to 2m in length. This dimension aligns with the average height of an adult human, compatible with a corpse wrapped in a burial shroud frequently observed in Sudan.
Concurrently, the RSF and associated social media accounts began to attempt to reshape the narrative.
Posts portraying its fighters distributing supplies to civilians were disseminated by various users, while the paramilitary’s media office circulated multiple clips claiming to demonstrate the compassionate treatment of army prisoners of war.
Despite the narrative reshaping efforts launched by the RSF, their actions in el-Fasher have provoked widespread global condemnation.
BBC Verify contacted the RSF, providing an opportunity to respond to the allegations presented in this investigation. The organization did not respond.
Additional reporting by Kevin Nguyen, Kumar Malhotra, Richard Irvine-Brown, Alex Murray, Barbara Metzler, Lamees Altalebi and Ahmed Nour. Graphics by Jess Carr and Mesut Ersoz.
