“Dispose of the Bodies”: Sudan Rebels Sought to Erase Evidence of Mass Killings

A new report has revealed that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) carried out systematic mass killings and disposed of bodies in the city of El-Fashir, in Sudan’s Darfur region, after overrunning the city.

The Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale University, which has used satellite imagery to monitor atrocities since the outbreak of the war between the RSF and the Sudanese army, said the fighters “destroyed and concealed evidence of large-scale mass killings” in the capital of North Darfur State.

The RSF’s violent seizure in October of what was described as the army’s last stronghold in the Darfur region triggered international outrage amid reports of summary executions, systematic rape, and mass detentions.

The research body said that following the takeover, it identified 150 clusters of objects consistent with human remains. Dozens of findings matched reports of execution-style killings, while others were consistent with accounts that RSF forces killed civilians as they attempted to flee.

The report concluded that “large-scale, systematic mass killings and body disposal have occurred,” estimating the death toll in the city at tens of thousands.

Humanitarian organizations and the United Nations have repeatedly called for safe access to El-Fashir, where communications remain cut off and tens of thousands of survivors are believed to be trapped, many of them allegedly detained by the RSF.