Verified
investigations reveal mass executions, forced disappearances, and ransom detentions
after the city’s fall to the Rapid Support Forces.
Al Fashir, Sudan | Tens of thousands of civilians who fled the northern Darfur city of Al Fashir were reportedly detained, executed, or disappeared in surrounding “killing fields” after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured the area on 26 October 2025.
A
joint investigation by Sky News, Sudan War Monitor, and Lighthouse Reports
reveals evidence of systematic targeting of non-Arab civilians and surrendered
soldiers, verified through open-source videos, satellite imagery, and survivor
testimonies.
More
than 60,000 people remain unaccounted for, according to humanitarian agencies.
Data
from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) indicate that while
around 70,000 residents escaped during the city’s fall, fewer than 10,000
reached official displacement shelters.
Geolocated
evidence of capture
Investigators
verified video footage showing civilians — including identifiable men in
distinct clothing — being captured by RSF fighters near Geurnei, roughly five
kilometers from Al Fashir.
Satellite
imagery from Copernicus confirmed that groups of up to 2,000 captives were
detained and moved toward school compounds.
Witness
testimonies
A
survivor named Abdelhamid described executions carried out publicly.
“They
would select people and execute them in front of us and then say, ‘bury your
brother.’ I saw them kill 18 people with my own eyes,” he told reporters.
Family
members of detained doctors said RSF units demanded ransoms for release.
Satellite
photos dated 30 October 2025 show fresh burial mounds near school buildings —
consistent with new grave formations.
Evidence
of extrajudicial killings
Videos
analyzed by the investigation show armed RSF fighters pursuing unarmed
civilians across open fields and executing men at point-blank range.
The
footage was corroborated by satellite position data and verified RSF insignia
visible on uniforms.
Background:
The siege of Al Fashir
For
18 months, Al Fashir endured a devastating siege marked by starvation tactics,
aerial shelling, and communications blackouts.
A
defensive berm constructed by the RSF, first documented by the Yale
Humanitarian Research Lab, effectively isolated the city’s 200,000 remaining
residents.
Command
withdrawal and alleged abandonment
Multiple
senior SAF sources confirmed that top commanders evacuated in a convoy of over 100
vehicles before the 6th Infantry Division’s collapse.
Left-behind
soldiers described a “complete abandonment”, claiming that their leaders
withdrew without informing units still defending the city.
“The
division commander had left the garrison. Everything collapsed on us,” said one
captured soldier.
“Brigadier
General Adam and several officers were taken after refusing to withdraw.”
Conflicting
narratives from SAF and RSF
SAF
Commander Abdel Fattah Al Burhan said the withdrawal aimed to prevent civilian
casualties from intensified drone and artillery attacks.
In
contrast, RSF spokesperson Dr. Alaa Nugud dismissed reports of ethnic targeting
as “fake media campaigns” and accused SAF of historical manipulation of ethnic
tensions.
Humanitarian
catastrophe and famine conditions
The
UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has declared
famine-level conditions in Al Fashir and Kadugli.
The
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) confirmed that
aid convoys remain blocked from access, with civilians “trapped inside” the
city.
Satellite
confirmation of destruction
High-resolution
images from Vantor Analytics show burned vehicles and dozens of bodies near RSF
positions south of the defensive berm.
Analysts
estimate that 7,000 deaths occurred within the first five days of RSF control —
a figure corroborated by local sources but not independently verified on-site.
International
reaction and accountability
The
United States and European Union have reiterated calls for independent war
crimes investigations.
The
Biden administration previously determined in 2024 that the RSF had committed
genocide in Darfur, two decades after the Janjaweed atrocities.
Implications
for regional stability
Humanitarian
experts warn that Al Fashir’s fall could accelerate ethnic cleansing patterns
across Darfur and destabilize neighboring Chad and South Sudan through refugee
flows and armed spillovers.
As
of early November, more than 200,000 civilians remain cut off from
communication, aid, or evacuation.
Satellite evidence, witness accounts, and institutional reports converge on one message: the killing did not end with the fall of Al Fashir — it moved beyond its walls.
By: Maria Perez | Editor-in-Chief,
CRNTimes
Edited by:
Maria Perez
Publication date:
November 3, 2025