‘They killed civilians in their beds’: mayhem and cruelty prevail following capture of El Fasher

The volunteer nurse Nawal Khalil had been working as a medical volunteer for the past three years within the South El Fasher hospital when the city was seized last Sunday by RSF paramilitaries. She was actively caring for the sick, among them an older female patient who needed a blood transfusion, as the assault commenced.

“Six injured soldiers were killed and civilians in their beds – some of them women,” she says. “I don’t know what happened for my remaining patients. I was forced to flee as they invaded the hospital.”

Khalil, aged 27, was hit by a bullet in her right foot and her thigh during the RSF's seizure of the closeby army headquarters. She escaped from the city and traveled on foot for one day, hurt and lacking sustenance, to get to the settlement of Garney. “On the way, they took my phone and money,” she explains. “I possessed nothing remaining.”

Over a thousand individuals – featuring females and minors – journeyed by walking for 48 hours to arrive at Tawila town located in northern Darfur following their escape from El Fasher, which was captured after an 18-month siege.

This settlement, approximately 34 miles westward of El Fasher, remains under the authority by the SLA faction commanded by Abdul Wahid Mohamed al-Nur.

Last Tuesday, the allied Joint Forces – which partner with Sudan's military – blamed the RSF of killing more than 2,000 civilians since the fall of the city. United Nations officials stated that footage existed featuring numerous unarmed males either being shot or deceased, encircled by RSF combatants.”

Contextual Information

Conflict erupted within Khartoum back on April 15, 2023 when an intensifying power struggle involving the two key groups within the military government ultimately became violent.

From one perspective are the Sudanese armed forces, which maintain general loyalty to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the nation's actual leader. Challenging him are the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a collection of militias which support the ex-warlord General Dagalo, known as Hemedti.

The Rapid Support Forces were first created by the former dictatorial ruler Omar al-Bashir as a pro-Arab counterinsurgency force known as the Janjaweed, which soon became linked with widespread atrocities. In 2013, Bashir transformed the group into the Rapid Support Forces, sending them to suppress a fresh rebellion within South Darfur.

The war has pushed Sudan into among the most severe humanitarian crises in modern times, based on UN statements. It has created the planet's biggest displacement catastrophe, forcing more than 10 million persons internally and 4 million who have fled to bordering states, creating increasing strain on both Chad and South Sudan.

Present Circumstances

According to witnesses, thousands more civilians remain trapped by the RSF and associated armed groups within Garney, southwest from El Fasher. Numerous are ex-military personnel from Sudan's armed forces, the collaborative forces and other militant organizations that had been fighting alongside the army. They are apparently detained because they cannot afford extortion payments between five and ten million Sudanese pounds (£6,000 to £12,000), per those who escaped who reached Tawila. Those unable to pay remain imprisoned for several days, and in some cases let go solely after becoming gravely ill.

The SLA-AW has apparently permitted government troops fleeing El Fasher to access Tawila on condition they surrender their weapons.

The individual Adam Yagoub, aged 28, a chauffeur from Sennar within central Sudan, barely avoided execution subsequent to his seizure by three armed men mounted on camels in the Garney vicinity.

“They intended to behead me using a knife,” he tells, showing his arm, which one of the fighters hit with the stock of a Kalashnikov. “Subsequently one identified me – his brother had worked with me – and pleaded with them to spare me. There were 18 of us who left El Fasher together, however just eight arrived in Tawila. I think the others are dead.”

Yagoub reports he witnessed 22 deceased individuals in proximity to what he termed a “fake well” employed by the RSF and partner armed groups along the Garney-Tawila route. “It represents a trap,” he explains. “People walk all day without water, and when they reach it, the militias are waiting. They killed 22 men there and took the bodies away to obscure them.”

A different medical worker who ran from South El Fasher hospital following Sunday's assault said RSF fighters entered using one doorway and commenced firing upon patients in the emergency ward, causing at least eight fatalities. “We fled through another gate, but they hit me on the head using a rifle,” he recounts.

Via a recorded message last Wednesday, the RSF commander, General Dagalo, referred to as Hemedti, stated that any military personnel or commander who infringed upon the rights of any individual would face consequences.

Several people who got away El Fasher utilized hours concealing themselves near military artillery before fleeing west during nighttime. Previously displaced households originating from the urban Abu Shouk settlement were compelled to relocate again, finding shelter in Daraja Oula area before eventually heading for Tawila.

People apprehended by RSF forces in Garney were apparently provided {water mixed with flour|flour