The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan say they have arrested several of their fighters accused of committing atrocities during the recent capture of El-Fasher, the last army-held city in Darfur, amid growing international outrage and warnings from the United Nations that “horror is continuing” in the war-torn region.
In a statement released late Thursday, the RSF confirmed that it had detained a number of its members, including a fighter identified as Abu Lulu, who appeared in multiple verified social media videos showing summary executions and abuse of civilians during the takeover of El-Fasher.
One video verified by AFP shows Abu Lulu shooting unarmed men at close range, while another captures him standing among dozens of bodies and burnt vehicles. A third clip depicts him coercing captives to praise army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan — executing them when they refused.
The RSF said Abu Lulu and others were being held in a North Darfur prison, adding that “legal committees have begun investigations in preparation for bringing them to justice.” The group also reiterated its commitment to “law, rules of conduct and military discipline during wartime.”
However, reports from survivors and international observers paint a grim picture of what unfolded in El-Fasher following the RSF’s capture of the city on Sunday, ending an 18-month siege. Survivors who fled to the nearby town of Tawila told AFP of mass killings, looting, and children being shot in front of their parents.
UN officials say more than 36,000 people have fled El-Fasher since the city fell, while an estimated 177,000 civilians remain trapped, their fate unknown.
At a UN Security Council briefing on Thursday, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said there were “credible reports of widespread executions” and other atrocities committed by the RSF after entering El-Fasher.
“We cannot hear the screams, but the horror is continuing,” Fletcher warned, citing reports of rapes, mutilations, and mass killings carried out with impunity.
While RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (Hemedti) has promised accountability for any fighter found guilty of misconduct, international observers have expressed doubts over the group’s sincerity, noting its history of abuses dating back to its origins in the Janjaweed militias accused of genocide in Darfur in the early 2000s.
Satellite imagery analysed by Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab reportedly shows clusters resembling “adult human bodies” and signs of “pools of blood” around El-Fasher.
The fall of El-Fasher gives the RSF full control of all five state capitals in Darfur, effectively dividing Sudan along east-west lines and tightening its grip on the western region. The Sudanese army retains control of the country’s north, east, and central areas.
The UN and rights groups have accused both the RSF and the Sudanese army of committing war crimes. The United States has previously determined that the RSF committed genocide in Darfur.
Despite international mediation led by the United States, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, peace efforts have repeatedly collapsed. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Iran are believed to back the Sudanese army, while the UN has accused the United Arab Emirates of supplying arms to the RSF — allegations Abu Dhabi denies.
The conflict, which began in April 2023, has pushed Sudan to the brink of collapse, with the UN warning that millions face famine and displacement as atrocities continue unchecked in Darfur and Kordofan.
