The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have allegedly begun digging mass graves in Sudan’s el-Fasher to conceal evidence of a massacre following their takeover of the city, a U.S. researcher has revealed.
The warning comes amid growing fears for civilians trapped in the conflict-hit region.
Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale’s School of Public Health, told Al Jazeera that RSF fighters “have begun to dig mass graves and collect bodies throughout the city.”
“They are cleaning up the massacre,” Raymond said, suggesting an attempt to hide evidence of widespread killings.
The RSF seized control of el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, on October 26 after the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) withdrew. The two sides have been at war since April 2023, battling for dominance across the country.
Thousands flee as city becomes “unlivable”
According to the United Nations, more than 70,000 people have fled el-Fasher and nearby areas since the RSF’s takeover.
Witnesses and rights groups have reported summary executions, sexual violence, and massacres of civilians.
UNHCR official Jacqueline Wilma Parlevliet warned that thousands of residents remain trapped without food, water, or medical care. “The current insecurity continues to block access, preventing the delivery of life-saving assistance,” she said.
City under siege even before takeover
Sudanese journalist Abdallah Hussain told Al Jazeera from Khartoum that el-Fasher had already suffered under an 18-month RSF-imposed siege before its fall.
“No aid was allowed to access the city, and no healthcare facilities were operating,” he said. “Now it’s getting even worse for the citizens who remain trapped.”
The RSF and its supporters have attempted to shift blame for the atrocities, accusing allied armed groups of being responsible. RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, has promised an investigation.
However, Raymond rejected the credibility of such claims, insisting that the RSF must withdraw and allow UN and Red Cross personnel to enter the city.
“If they want an investigation, they need to let humanitarians go house-to-house to see who’s still alive,” he said. “At this point, we can’t let the RSF investigate themselves.”
Raymond added that, based on UN data and satellite evidence, the death toll in el-Fasher within just 10 days may have exceeded the number of deaths recorded in two years of war in Gaza.
“That’s what we’re talking about. That’s not hyperbole,” he warned, stressing the urgent need for humanitarian access.
