Sudan’s RSF arrests fighters accused of abuses in El-Fasher

Sudan paramilitary Rapid Support Forces said they had arrested several fighters accused of committing abuses during the capture of the city of El-Fasher, as the United Nations said “horror is continuing” in the Darfur region.

The RSF, at war with the army since April 2023, seized El-Fasher – the army last stronghold in Darfur – on Sunday after an 18-month siege.

Investigation launched into violations

In a statement late Thursday, the RSF said it had detained several fighters accused of violations that occurred during the liberation of the city, including one known as Abu Lulu who appeared in multiple videos on his TikTok committing summary executions. In one clip verified by AFP, he is seen shooting unarmed men at close range. Another shows him standing among armed men near dozens of bodies and burnt vehicles. A third video shows Abu Lulu attempting to coerce captives into praising army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. When they refused, he executed them, saying, “When we came here, we had two choices: death or victory.”

Fighters presented as detained

The RSF released a video appearing to show Abu Lulu behind bars in what they claimed to be a North Darfur prison. It said legal committees had begun investigations in preparation for bringing them to justice. The group also affirmed its adherence to the law, rules of conduct and military discipline during wartime.

Survivors recount city horrors

El-Fasher has been cut off from all communications since its fall, but survivors who reached the nearby town of Tawila told AFP of mass killings, children shot before their parents and civilians beaten and robbed as they fled. Emtithal Mahmoud, a United States-based Sudanese poet from El-Fasher, said she recognized her cousin, Nadifa, in a video shared by RSF accounts, lying dead on the ground. Since Sunday, videos circulating online have shown men in RSF uniforms carrying out summary executions around the city.

Mass displacement amid unknown fate for trapped

More than 36,000 people have fled El-Fasher since Sunday, according to the UN migration agency, while the fate of about 177,000 civilians still trapped in the city remains unknown.

AFP