'Our Mission Involves Solely Killing' - How The Sudanese Brutal Paramilitary Group Conducted a Massacre

Warning: This Story Contains Graphic Accounts of Killings.

Militiamen chuckle as they travel on the bed of a transport truck, racing by a series of multiple corpses and driving towards the setting Sudanese sun.

"Look at such accomplishment. Observe this instance of mass destruction," one shouts.

He beams as he points the recording device on his person and his associate fighters, their Rapid Support Forces badges on display: "These people shall all be killed this way."

The combatants are celebrating a massacre that aid workers suspect resulted in the deaths of more than 2,000 people in the Sudanese metropolis of al-Fashir during October.

A Community Severed from the World

Following their control of the community under blockade for nearly 24 months, from August the paramilitary force proceeded to consolidate its control and prevent access for the surviving civilian population.

Satellite images show that fighters started to construct a massive earth barrier - a raised sand barrier - encircling the perimeter of el-Fasher, closing roads and halting aid.

As the siege escalated, 78 civilians were murdered in an militia strike on a religious building on 19 September, while the international organization said fifty-three more were murdered in aerial and heavy weapon bombardments on a makeshift community in October.

Explicit Footage Shows Defenseless People Executed

In the early morning on late October the RSF defeated the final military positions and seized the primary headquarters in the urban area, the main facility of the Army Division, as the government forces pulled back.

Perhaps the most graphic footage to surface and analysed showed the results of a mass killing at a educational facility on the west of the community, where dozens dead bodies were observed strewn over the floor.

An older person wearing a traditional garment sat alone surrounded by the victims. He rotated to glance as a fighter armed with a weapon moved descending the steps towards the individual. pointing his rifle, the shooter discharged a one round at the victim, who dropped to the surface motionless.

"For what reason is this person even alive," one fighter exclaimed. "Kill him."

Satellite images recorded on October 26th indicated to substantiate that executions were additionally carried out on the thoroughfares of el-Fasher, based on a analysis published by the university analysis team.

One eyewitness who communicated said he had seen "multiple of our kin being killed - the victims were collected in one place and each one eliminated."

Militia Officers Seek to Implement Damage Control

Following the events that ensued from the killings, militia leader acknowledged that his troops had perpetrated "wrongdoings" and said the incidents would be examined.

Included among arrested was after a investigation recording his killings. Meticulously choreographed and produced video shared on the RSF's official messaging channel show him being taken into a cell at a detention facility on the edges of el-Fasher.

Meanwhile, the RSF and affiliated social media accounts started attempting to reframe the narrative.

Posts depicting its combatants handing out assistance to residents were shared by various users, while the militia's public relations unit published several clips claiming to demonstrate the proper management of military prisoners of war.

Regardless of the digital campaign being used by the RSF, their actions in the city have provoked international anger.

Cheryl Bolton
Cheryl Bolton

A film critic with over a decade of experience, specializing in independent cinema and international film festivals.