A report by the British newspaper The Telegraph has analyzed satellite images taken after the fall of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State in western Sudan, which was seized by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after more than a year and a half of siege.
The images show the desert sands surrounding El Fasher stained red with the blood of over 2,000 civilians killed.
According to The Telegraph, the pools of blood are so extensive and the piles of bodies so numerous that they are clearly visible from space. Militias that had been defending the city alongside the army accused the RSF of committing “horrific crimes against innocent civilians,” saying that most of the victims were women, children, and the elderly.
Regional and international governments, UN organizations, and local reports have all accused the RSF of carrying out massacres amounting to genocide in El Fasher — a city it captured following an 18-month siege.
Reports from the city describe a campaign of terror waged by the RSF, including the execution of more than 2,000 unarmed civilians since Sunday. Additional alarming evidence of atrocities has been supported by satellite imagery.
The Telegraph report also cites video footage showing a child soldier killing an unarmed man in cold blood, and another clip depicting RSF fighters executing civilians moments after pretending to release them.
Although the exact death toll could not be independently verified, the satellite images taken over the weekend — following the city’s fall — provide clear evidence of mass killings after an 18-month siege.
