Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces are collecting bodies after the deadly takeover of the capital of North Darfur, a US investigator says.
A researcher at Yale University in the United States says the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are digging mass graves in el-Fasher, the town in Sudan's western Darfur region that has seen mass killings and displacement since the RSF took control last month.
Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of the Humanitarian Research Laboratory at the Yale School of Public Health, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that the RSF “has begun digging mass graves and collecting bodies throughout the city.”
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“They're cleaning up the massacre,” Raymond said.
The RSF took control of el-Fasher, capital of North Darfur state, on October 26, following the withdrawal of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), which has been fighting the paramilitary group for control of Sudan since April 2023.
More than 70,000 people have fled the city and its surrounding areas since the RSF takeover, according to the United Nations, while witnesses and human rights groups have reported cases of “summary executions,” sexual violence and massacres of civilians.
A Yale Humanitarian Research Laboratory report on October 28 also found evidence of “mass killings” since the RSF took control of el-Fasher, including apparent pools of blood that were visible on satellite images.
UN officials also warned this week that thousands of people are believed to be trapped in el-Fasher.
“Current insecurity continues to block access, preventing the delivery of life-saving assistance to those trapped in the city without food, water and medical care,” said Jacqueline Wilma Parlevliet, senior official at the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Sudan.
Sudanese journalist Abdallah Hussain explained that, before the full takeover by the RSF, el-Fasher was already recovering from an 18-month siege imposed by the paramilitary group.
“No aid or health centers were allowed into the city. [were] operating,” Hussain told Al Jazeera from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, on Tuesday. “Now the situation is getting even worse for citizens who remain trapped.”
Amid global condemnation, RSF and its supporters have sought to downplay the atrocities committed in el-Fasher, accusing allied armed groups of being responsible.
RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, also promised an investigation.
But Raymond of the Humanitarian Research Laboratory said: “If they really want to do research, then they should leave the city.” [and] Let UN staff, Red Cross and humanitarian workers in… and go from house to house to see who is still alive.”
“At this time, we cannot allow the RSF to investigate on their own,” he said.
Raymond added that, based on UN figures and what can be seen on the ground in El Fasher, “more people could have died.” [in 10 days]…who have died in the last two years of the war in Gaza.”
“That's what we're talking about. It's not hyperbole,” he told Al Jazeera, stressing that thousands of people need emergency assistance.
More than 68,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's war on Gaza since October 7, 2023.
