The War in Sudan

Researchers: RSF “cleans up” – digging mass graves

Paramilitary RSF have begun digging mass graves and collecting bodies around el-Fashir, Yale researchers tell Al Jazeera. It is described as an attempt to “clean up after the massacre”.

In late October, RSF took control of el-Fashir, the last strong stronghold of the Sudanese military in Darfur. The city had been under siege for a year and a half.

In recent weeks, more than 60,000 people have fled the city, according to the UN. Testimonies and images indicate summary executions, sexual violence and widespread civilian casualties since the RSF took over. Satellite images show large pools of blood that suggest mass killings have been committed, according to a report from the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale from October 28.

More people may have been killed in Sudan in the past week than in the entire Gaza war

There is growing evidence that el-Fashir in Sudan's Darfur region is the epicenter of one of the worst massacres of the century, writes The Telegraph. More people may have been killed there in the past week than in the two-year war in Gaza, according to the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale University. More than 60,000 have been killed during the Gaza war, according to the UN.

Satellite images from el-Fashir show graves and bodies that, according to the researchers, suggest "a rate of killing that can only be compared to the genocide in Rwanda".

Many are killed during their desperate attempts to escape. Hani tells the British newspaper that he survived because he was one of the few of the 200 he fled with who could scrape together money.

RSF militiamen stopped the group and demanded a ransom of the equivalent of over 25,000 kronor per person. The refugees were given two hours to try to reach friends or relatives who could transfer the money to the militiamen's accounts. Only four of them succeeded.

- The rest were killed. They killed children, the elderly and women. I cannot describe the scene. It was unbearable to see people die right in front of you, each with a single shot, he says.
The massacre in el-Fashir - the point

The paramilitary group RSF took control of el-Fashir, the Sudanese army's last stronghold in Darfur, at the end of October 2025, after an 18-month siege.

The UN states that the paramilitary RSF has killed several hundred people in a hospital in el-Fashir, where as many as 460 patients and several relatives are among the dead, and reports of massacres and extrajudicial executions have come after the group's entry.

At least 40,000 people have been killed and 14 million displaced during the conflict between RSF and the Sudanese army since April 2023.

A humanitarian disaster is brewing with famine, cholera outbreaks and a lack of healthcare – people are reportedly forced to eat animal feed to survive.

The UN Secretary-General and the ICC have warned of war crimes and called for an end to arms flows and foreign interference in the conflict.

Fleet Lined with Bodies and Gang Rape: “No One Could Stop It”

People who fled the famine-stricken town of el-Fashir in Sudan after the paramilitary RSF took over last week testify to brutal violence. Abdallah Hasaballah, who reached the town of Tawila, tells Reuters of a desperate escape along roads lined with bodies.

“Some died of thirst, others of exhaustion, some of their injuries – from bleeding. Some were injured by the rockets in el-Fashir. The shrapnel hurts more than bullets. They penetrate the body, make the legs swell, prevent the blood from circulating. It drains you of strength.

Amira, a mother of four, is also one of thousands of refugees who have sought shelter in Tawila, about seven miles west of el-Fashir. During a webinar organized by the campaign group Avaaz, she talks about the rapes she witnessed during her escape.

“It was public gang rape, in front of everyone and no one could stop it,” she says, according to AFP.

The UN agency IOM estimates that 60,000 have fled el-Fashir, but that as many as 200,000 are still trapped in the city.

The war in Sudan – it’s about the matter

The paramilitary group RSF took control of el-Fashir, the Sudanese army’s last stronghold in Darfur, at the end of October 2025, after an 18-month siege.

The UN states that the paramilitary RSF has killed several hundred people in a hospital in el-Fashir, where as many as 460 patients and several relatives are among the dead, and reports of massacres and extrajudicial executions have come after the group’s entry.

At least 40,000 people have been killed and 14 million displaced during the conflict between RSF and the Sudanese army since April 2023.

A humanitarian disaster is brewing with famine, cholera outbreaks and a lack of healthcare – people are reportedly forced to eat animal feed to survive.

The UN Secretary-General and the ICC have warned of war crimes and called for an end to arms flows and foreign interference in the conflict.