U.S. Report: Militias Continue Disposing of Civilian Bodies in Mass Graves in El-Fashir

A recent report by the Humanitarian Research Laboratory at Yale University revealed that militias continue to dispose of civilian bodies in El-Fashir, digging mass graves, including in residential areas, as well as burning and burying remains.

The report, published by Yale’s Humanitarian Research Laboratory, indicated that the team had documented burned bodies and ground excavations through satellite imagery.

The Yale University School of Public Health Peace Research Lab confirmed that the militias continue to use mass burial and burning of bodies, particularly near the Saudi Hospital and Al-Daraja neighbourhood in El-Fashir.

The report suggested that these disposal operations likely continue in areas that previously had high civilian populations. It also noted that the findings align with mass killings carried out by militias near the Saudi Hospital and Al-Daraja, locations that were densely populated before their arrival.

Satellite images between 26–28 October 2025 showed a limited number of new individual burial mounds, including five mounds in Al-Rahma Cemetery and two potential mounds in Al-Daraja Cemetery, still under investigation. The report emphasized that these burials do not appear to be individual and that disposal operations continued until 28 October 2025.

The report contrasted current practices with pre-conflict burial customs, noting that civilians previously followed humane burial practices before the arrival of the RSF.

It also issued a grim warning for the approximately 250,000 civilians remaining in El-Fashir, suggesting they may have been killed by the RSF, died, displaced, or are still in hiding.

Yale’s team did not conduct assessments in several areas of El-Fashir, including the Grand Market, Um Dafso Market, areas near the main market, Nivasha Market, Abu Shouk IDP Camp, Abuja Market, Al-Daraja First District, and the livestock market.