Echoes of Genocide: Systematic Killings in Sudan's El-Fasher

Thu Oct 30 2025 19:03:37 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Reports from Sudan reveal a devastating pattern of violence in El-Fasher, resembling the atrocities of past genocides. Activists warn that current events may signal a continuation of ethnic cleansing and war crimes.

Emerging evidence suggests systematic killings occurring in el-Fasher, Sudan, echoing the historical atrocities of the Darfur genocide. Rights activists denounce the ongoing civil war between the military and the RSF as a resurgence of ethnic violence, citing human rights violations and evidence provided by RSF fighters. Eyewitness accounts paint a grim picture of terror, looting, and targeted attacks on non-Arab communities, raising alarms about potential war crimes and ethnic cleansing.

Emerging evidence of systematic killings in the Sudanese city of el-Fasher have prompted human rights and aid activists to describe the civil war between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the military as a continuation of the Darfur genocide.

The fall of el-Fasher, in the Darfur region, after an 18-month RSF siege brings together the different layers of the country's conflict – with echoes of its dark past and the brutality of its present-day war.

The RSF emerged from the Janjaweed, Arab militias who massacred hundreds of thousands of Darfuris from non-Arab populations, in the early 2000s.

The paramilitary force has been accused of ethnic killings since its power struggle with the army erupted into violence in April 2023. The RSF leadership has consistently denied the accusations - although on Wednesday, its leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo admitted to violations in el-Fasher.

The current charges are based on apparent evidence of atrocities provided by the RSF fighters themselves.

They have been sharing gruesome videos reportedly showing summary executions of mostly male civilians and ex-combatants, celebrating over dead bodies, and taunting and abusing people.

Accounts from exhausted survivors also paint a picture of terror and violence.

The situation in el-Fasher is extremely dire and there are violations taking place on the roads, including looting and shooting, with no distinction made between young or old, one man told the BBC Arabic service. He had escaped to the town of Tawila, a hub for those displaced from el-Fasher.

Another woman, Ikram Abdelhameed, told the Reuters news agency that RSF soldiers separated fleeing civilians at an earthen barrier around the city and shot the men.

Evidence from satellite images reveals potential massacre sites in el-Fasher, suggesting a systematic ethnic cleansing of indigenous non-Arab communities.

The pattern of violence established then has been repeated in Darfur now, says Kate Ferguson, a co-founder of an NGO, who describes deliberate strategies aimed at destruction and displacement. This situation is drawing comparisons to past genocides, emphasizing the urgent need for international intervention.