Our Task Consists of Solely Eliminating' - The Way Sudan's Vicious Militia Conducted a Mass Killing

Alert: This Story Contains Disturbing Descriptions of Killings.

Militiamen chuckle as they ride on the bed of a pick-up truck, racing by a row of multiple corpses and driving facing the setting Sudanese sunset.

"See all this work. Look at this act of mass destruction," a combatant cheers.

He smiles as he directs the video equipment on himself and his fellow combatants, their RSF identification on display: "These people are all going to perish this way."

These individuals are rejoicing over a atrocity that relief organizations believe killed over thousands of people in the African metropolis of the Darfur city during October.

A City Isolated from the World

Following their control of the urban area under siege for approximately two years, from the summer the paramilitary force moved to consolidate its dominance and blockade the leftover civilian population.

Space-based imagery reveal that forces started to build a massive sand wall - a built-up sand barrier - around the edges of the city, sealing off entry points and blocking humanitarian assistance.

As the siege escalated, 78 people were murdered in an militia attack on a mosque on mid-September, while the UN reported fifty-three more were killed in unmanned aircraft and heavy weapon bombardments on a refugee settlement in October.

Graphic Recording Shows Defenseless Individuals Shot

At dawn on 26 October the paramilitary force defeated the remaining army strongholds and seized the main base in the community, the headquarters of the 6th Infantry Division, as the army pulled back.

Perhaps the most horrific footage to emerge and studied showed the results of a mass killing at a educational facility on the western side of the community, where dozens lifeless forms were observed spread across the floor.

An older person wearing a white tunic was seated by himself amid the victims. The man turned to glance as a combatant equipped with a rifle proceeded down the stairs towards the victim. pointing his weapon, the fighter fired a solitary shot at the victim, who fell to the ground lifeless.

"Why is this individual even living," another combatant exclaimed. "Execute this person."

Satellite images recorded on 26 October indicated to confirm that killings were also performed on the streets of al-Fashir, based on a study issued by the university analysis team.

An witness who spoke reported they had observed "numerous of our relatives getting massacred - the victims were collected in a single location and everyone eliminated."

Paramilitary Officers Try to Conduct Damage Control

Following the events that followed the killings, paramilitary leader conceded that his forces had carried out "wrongdoings" and announced the events would be investigated.

Included among arrested was following a report recording his killings. Carefully staged and edited footage published on the RSF's authorized Telegram platform depict him being escorted into a detention area at a jail on the outskirts of al-Fashir.

Meanwhile, the paramilitary force and associated social media profiles began attempting to alter the account.

Updates presenting its combatants handing out assistance to civilians were disseminated by some accounts, while the militia's media office released several recordings claiming to display the proper handling of military prisoners of war.

In spite of the social media effort being employed by the paramilitary, their actions in al-Fashir have provoked worldwide anger.

Nicole Ramirez
Nicole Ramirez

Elara Vance is an astrophysicist and science writer with a passion for making space exploration accessible to everyone.