Emerging evidence of systematic killings in the Sudanese city of el-Fasher have prompted human rights and aid activists to describe the civil war between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the military as a continuation of the Darfur genocide. The fall of el-Fasher, in the Darfur region, after an 18-month RSF siege brings together the different layers of the country's conflict – with echoes of its dark past and the brutality of its present-day war.
The RSF, which originated from the Janjaweed militias responsible for past massacres, has been accused of ethnic killings since April 2023. Despite the leadership's denials, new evidence, including gruesome videos shared by RSF fighters, suggests a pattern of violence against predominantly male civilians.
Survivors recount unbearable terror: looting, shootings, and targeted killings. Reports reveal RSF soldiers separating men from fleeing civilians at checkpoints, indicating a systematic assault on specific ethnic groups. Researchers, including those from Yale University, have produced satellite imagery purportedly showing massacre sites, bolstering claims of ethnic cleansing against indigenous non-Arab communities.
The ongoing conflict exhibits strong ethnic dimensions, particularly with local groups like the dominant Zaghawa tribe fighting alongside the army against the RSF. Observers warn that the violence, which is reminiscent of the strategies employed during past atrocities, continues unabated, threatening the existence of vulnerable communities.
International calls for urgent intervention are mounting as activists highlight the potential for further massacres if action is not taken. Humanitarian groups stress the need for protective measures, drawing parallels with historical events like the Srebrenica massacre, to prevent a repeat of such horrors.
