Our Purpose Is Solely Killing' - How The Sudanese Ruthless Militia Conducted a Mass Killing

Caution: This Report Includes Disturbing Accounts of Killings.

Combatants chuckle as they move on the rear of a pick-up truck, speeding past a series of multiple corpses and driving towards the setting African evening sky.

"Observe this extensive effort. Observe this act of mass destruction," one shouts.

He beams as he points the recording device on himself and his fellow militiamen, their RSF badges visible: "These people are all going to perish like this."

The combatants are rejoicing over a mass killing that aid workers suspect killed in excess of two thousand civilians in the Sudanese urban center of the Darfur city last month.

A Community Severed from the Outside

After maintaining the community under encirclement for approximately two years, from August the paramilitary force advanced to strengthen its position and restrict the surviving residents.

Satellite images demonstrate that fighters began to construct a massive earth barrier - a built-up sand barrier - around the edges of el-Fasher, sealing off entry points and blocking aid.

During the encirclement intensified, 78 people were slain in an militia strike on a mosque on mid-September, while the United Nations reported fifty-three additional were slain in aerial and artillery attacks on a refugee settlement in fall.

Explicit Video Reveals Unarmed Individuals Shot

In the early morning on late October the paramilitary force conquered the remaining army positions and took control of the main headquarters in the city, the headquarters of the 6th Infantry Division, as the army pulled back.

One of the most graphic footage to appear and analysed revealed the results of a mass killing at a educational facility on the western side of the urban area, where scores corpses were visible spread over the floor.

An elderly person clad in a traditional garment was seated alone amongst the victims. The individual rotated to glance as a combatant armed with a rifle moved along the staircase in the direction of him. Raising his weapon, the shooter fired a solitary bullet at the individual, who collapsed to the ground still.

"Why is this one still breathing," a militiaman cried. "Kill him."

Satellite images taken on 26 October seemed to confirm that killings were furthermore performed on the roads of el-Fasher, as reported by a report published by the academic research center.

A key observer who provided testimony reported they had seen "many of our relatives being executed - the victims were assembled in one place and everyone murdered."

RSF Officers Attempt to Conduct Reputation Management

During the period that ensued from the massacre, RSF leader admitted that his troops had perpetrated "wrongdoings" and stated the occurrences would be examined.

Among those arrested was following a report documenting his killings. Carefully choreographed and modified recording posted on the paramilitary's formal social media platform reveal him being led into a cell at a detention facility on the edges of the city.

Simultaneously, the paramilitary force and connected digital accounts commenced seeking to reshape the account.

Posts depicting its combatants handing out supplies to residents were circulated by various accounts, while the force's public relations unit published numerous clips purporting to demonstrate the humane management of military prisoners of war.

Despite the digital effort being employed by the RSF, their conduct in al-Fashir have sparked international condemnation.

Katherine Wright
Katherine Wright

A tech enthusiast and writer with a passion for exploring emerging technologies and their impact on society.