New satellite images analyzed by Yale University researchers suggest that mass killings are continuing in and around the Sudanese city of Al Fasher, days after it was captured by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Al Fasher, the last stronghold of the Sudanese army in the Darfur region, fell to the RSF on Sunday following an 18-month siege. The takeover marks a decisive moment in the ongoing conflict between the RSF and Sudan’s regular army, which has raged since April 2023 and left millions displaced.
Images released by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab on Friday show extensive signs of violence across the city, including fires, destroyed buildings, and what researchers identified as multiple clusters resembling human bodies. The lab said it found at least 31 such clusters between Monday and Friday, scattered across neighborhoods, university grounds, and military sites.
“Indicators that mass killing is continuing are clearly visible,” the report said, warning that much of the city’s population may now be “dead, captured, or in hiding.”
Satellite photos taken by Vantor on October 26 and released on October 31 show smoke rising from areas around El-Fasher Airport. Witnesses who escaped the city described harrowing scenes of violence, including executions, sexual assaults, and attacks on aid workers.
Survivors who fled to the nearby town of Tawila told AFP that paramilitaries were killing civilians attempting to escape. One mother, Hayat, said that young men travelling with her family were stopped by RSF fighters and “we don’t know what happened to them.”
The United Nations estimates that more than 65,000 people have fled Al Fasher since the RSF’s assault began, though tens of thousands remain trapped without food, water, or medical aid. Before the offensive, about 260,000 civilians were believed to be living in the city.
The RSF said Thursday that it had arrested several of its fighters accused of committing abuses, but UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher questioned whether the group was genuinely investigating violations. Both the RSF and the Sudanese army have faced accusations of war crimes throughout the 19-month conflict.
The fall of Al Fasher gives the RSF control over all five state capitals in Darfur, effectively splitting Sudan along an east-west line — with the army holding the north, east, and center, while the RSF dominates the west.
International observers warn that the city’s capture could deepen Sudan’s humanitarian crisis and further destabilize the already war-torn region.
