Sudan Massacre: Militia Confesses “Our Only Job is to Kill”

A group of men roared with laughter as their pickup truck sped past a line of nine bodies sprawled on a street in Sudan.

“Look at all this. Look at this genocide,” one of them shouted, still laughing. He then panned his camera across his own face and those of his comrades. The emblem of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was clearly visible on their uniforms. “They will all die like this,” he declared, clutching a firearm.

These men were celebrating a massacre that, according to humanitarian officials, is feared to have claimed over 2,000 lives in the city of el-Fasher, Sudan, just last month. In response to these grave allegations, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced on Monday, November 3, that it had launched an investigation into the paramilitary forces for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

El-Fasher stood as a primary target for the RSF. The city represented the Sudanese military’s final stronghold in Darfur, a region that has been a brutal battleground between government forces and the RSF since their governing coalition fractured in 2023. Over the past two years, this devastating conflict has claimed more than 150,000 lives. Both factions have faced accusations of committing numerous war crimes, with many such atrocities reportedly reoccurring following the fall of el-Fasher.

A City Cut Off from the World

Having besieged the city for nearly two years, the RSF intensified its efforts to consolidate its position and blockade the remaining civilian population starting last August. Satellite imagery revealed that government forces began constructing massive fortifications from raised sand berms around el-Fasher, effectively cutting off access routes and obstructing vital aid. By early October, this ring of fortifications had completely encircled the city, with smaller barriers isolating surrounding villages.

As the siege tightened its grip, a devastating RSF attack on a mosque on September 19 claimed 78 lives. A month later, the UN reported that 53 people perished in drone and artillery strikes targeting a displacement camp. Further evidence, shared with BBC Verify, indicated that the RSF was actively enforcing a brutal blockade on food and essential supplies, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.

In October, chilling footage emerged showing a man, his hands and feet bound behind his body, hanging upside down from a tree by a metal chain. The video’s recorder accused the captive of attempting to smuggle supplies into the besieged city. “I swear to God you will pay for this,” he screamed, before ordering the prisoner to beg for his life.

Meanwhile, the RSF launched a full-scale assault, pushing fiercely into the city’s heart, igniting intense urban warfare.

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As dawn broke on October 26, the RSF successfully overpowered the government military’s final defensive positions, seizing the headquarters of the 6th Infantry Division. Video footage captured RSF soldiers laughing mockingly as they entered the abandoned base, armed with rocket-propelled grenades. On the same day, RSF commander Abdul Rahim Dagalo—brother of RSF leader Mohammad “Hemedti” Dagalo—was seen inspecting the captured base.

The RSF originated from the notorious Janjaweed militia, responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands in Darfur between 2003 and 2005. The group has a long history of accusations for atrocities against non-Arab communities across Sudan. Disturbing footage uploaded online further indicated the RSF paramilitary personnel’s clear intent to inflict violence upon the civilian population of el-Fasher.

For months prior to the RSF’s capture of el-Fasher, very little information had emerged from the city. However, within mere hours of the government military’s withdrawal, a deluge of footage depicting RSF atrocities began to surface and rapidly spread across the internet, exposing the horrifying aftermath.

Among the most harrowing video evidence to emerge, analyzed by BBC Verify, was footage detailing the aftermath of a massacre within a university building on the city’s western side. Dozens of bodies lay strewn across the university floor. An elderly man, clad in a white robe, sat alone amidst the deceased, turning his head as an armed man approached him. Raising his weapon, the gunman fired a single shot, felling the old man instantly. His comrades, seemingly unfazed by the act, cast their gaze towards another man whose legs moved slightly among the piles of bodies. “Why is this one still alive?” one of the armed men yelled, adding, “Shoot him!”

Satellite imagery captured on October 26 corroborated that executions also occurred on the streets of el-Fasher, according to a recent report published by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab. Analysts at the institution highlighted “large clusters” visible in the images, which they described as “consistent with the size of adult human bodies and not appearing in previous imagery.” The report further indicated “discoloration” that could be consistent with human bloodstains.

One eyewitness, speaking to the BBC, recounted witnessing a horrific scene where “many of our relatives were butchered. They were gathered in one place and all killed.” Another witness claimed to have seen an RSF member kill a woman by “shooting her in the chest before throwing her body aside after taking all her belongings.”

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While the main RSF forces rampaged through el-Fasher, another contingent of armed personnel remained on the city’s outskirts, carrying out brutal executions of unarmed captives. Much of this violence unfolded within an approximately eight-kilometer radius of el-Fasher.

One verified video showed dozens of civilian-clad bodies—some appearing to be women—lying in ditches along the edge of RSF-constructed sand berms. Another recording depicted a scene of utter devastation, with raging fires and scattered remnants of charred trucks. Videos from the site also revealed bodies strewn among the vehicles.

A central figure in this wave of violence was previously identified by BBC Verify as an RSF commander, known online as Abu Lulu.

He was captured on two videos executing unarmed captives. One eyewitness told the BBC that Abu Lulu “ordered his men to kill several innocent people, including children.” In one horrifying video, an RSF soldier attempted to intervene as Abu Lulu prepared to execute a wounded man, who pleaded: “I know you. I called you a few days ago.” Abu Lulu dismissed the plea with a wave of his hand, declaring: “I will never have mercy. Our job is only to kill.” He then unleashed a volley of bullets that tore through the unarmed man’s body.

Another video depicted him summarily executing nine unarmed captives. Footage that surfaced days later showed these bodies left precisely where they fell, still lined up as if for execution, lying on the dusty ground of Darfur. Many involved in these killings wore RSF emblems, including the group later seen celebrating the massacre as “genocide.”

RSF Leadership Attempts to Polish Image Amidst Atrocities

Days after the massacres, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF leader, acknowledged that his forces had committed “violations” and stated that the incidents would be investigated. A senior UN official reported last week that the RSF had communicated the arrest of several suspects within their own ranks. Among those detained was Abu Lulu, following BBC Verify’s publication of a report documenting his murderous actions. Carefully edited footage posted on the RSF’s official Telegram account purportedly showed him being taken into a cell at a prison on the outskirts of el-Fasher.

Yale analysts have also accused the RSF of “conducting a cleanup of their alleged mass atrocities.” A report published on November 4 noted that satellite imagery revealed the removal of “objects consistent with human bodies from a location on the northern side of the RSF berms.” The same satellite imagery further identified grave sites near a children’s hospital in el-Fasher.

On October 30, BBC Verify measured white objects visible in the hospital courtyard, ranging between 1.6 and 2 meters in length. These objects were consistent with the height of adult humans, precisely the size of shroud-wrapped bodies commonly seen in Sudan.

Concurrently, the RSF and its affiliated social media accounts initiated efforts to reshape the narrative. Various social media posts, widely circulated by users, showed RSF personnel distributing aid to civilians. The paramilitary group’s media office also shared several video recordings purporting to demonstrate humane treatment of military prisoners of war.

Despite this concerted social media campaign, the RSF’s actions in el-Fasher have undeniably ignited global outrage. BBC Verify contacted the RSF, offering an opportunity to respond to the accusations detailed in this investigation, but the group did not provide a response.

Additional reporting by Kevin Nguyen, Kumar Malhotra, Richard Irvine-Brown, Daniele Palumbo, Alex Murray, Barbara Metzler, Lamees Altalebi, and Ahmed Nour. Graphics by Jess Carr and Mesut Ersoz.

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