This week, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a Sudanese rebel militia, reportedly seized control of the city of al-Fashir, attacking the last operational hospital and resulting in hundreds of deaths and the displacement of thousands.
In 2021, Sudan’s transitional civilian government was toppled through a coup led by General Abdul Fattah al-Burhan of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
The RSF is a paramilitary group that evolved from the infamous Janjaweed militia, which originally consisted of armed nomads supported by former dictator Omar al-Bashir. The U.S. government accused the Janjaweed of committing genocide back in 2004.
Burhan and Dagalo are on a collision course in 2023 amid a civil war marked by acts of brutality against civilians from both sides. The conflict has claimed over 40,000 lives, with conservative estimates indicating that around 12 million people have been forced to flee their homes. The United Nations labels Sudan as one of the worst humanitarian crises globally.
Al-Fashir was the final SAF stronghold in the Darfur region. It endured a siege by RSF forces for more than 500 days before being overrun, with some locals still referring to Dagalo’s forces as the Janjaweed.
“The Janjaweed showed no mercy towards anyone,” stated a resident. The violence escalated over the weekend.
“It looked like a murder scene,” another witness recalled. “Bodies were everywhere, people were bleeding, and no one was there to help.”
After claiming control of al-Fashir, RSF fighters reportedly went door to door, beating and shooting civilians, including women and children. Some people succumbed to their injuries in the streets, and multiple accounts of torture and sexual violence have surfaced.
The RSF stormed the last operational hospital in al-Fashir, the Saudi Maternity Hospital, attacking both staff and patients.
The Sudan Doctor Network reported that the RSF “murdered in cold blood everyone they found inside the Saudi hospital, including patients, their companions, and others in the wards.”
The World Health Organization condemned the acts, stating that at least 460 individuals, including patients and caregivers, died in Thursday’s assault, with many medical personnel kidnapped or killed.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director-General, expressed that he was “appalled and deeply shocked” by the violence against the hospital.
Prior to the recent assault, WHO had confirmed 185 attacks on health facilities in Sudan since the onset of the conflict in April 2023, leading to the deaths of 1,204 health workers and patients, with 416 injuries reported. A significant portion of these attacks, 49, occurred this year alone, resulting in 966 deaths.
The WHO called for an “immediate cessation of hostilities in al-Fashir and throughout Sudan” along with protection for civilians and humanitarian workers, as well as unrestricted access to aid. Approximately 200,000 people are stranded in occupied al-Fashir, contending with a cholera outbreak while food and medical supplies run low, according to UN sources.
“Hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped and in danger as militants advance deeper into the city, cutting off escape routes. They face shelling, starvation, and have no access to food, medical attention, or safety,” remarked Tom Fletcher, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator.
A report from the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Laboratory noted that satellite images show evidence of mass executions in al-Fashir, revealing extensive damage from bombing during the SAF’s attempts to retain control.
“Al-Fashir seems to be undergoing a systematic process of ethnic cleansing against non-Arab indigenous communities through forced relocations and summary executions,” the report stated.
The report concluded that the actions of the RSF may align with war crimes and crimes against humanity, potentially amounting to genocide.
At a press conference in Geneva, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that: “Estimates suggest that hundreds of civilians have been killed or captured since the RSF took control of al-Fashir.”
Witnesses confirmed that RSF members specifically targeted women and girls for rape at gunpoint, forcing around 100 families to flee amid gunfire and threats made toward elderly residents.
The United Nations Security Council condemned the RSF’s attack on al-Fashir and urged immediate “de-escalation.” It expressed grave concern over the growing potential for mass atrocities, including those motivated by ethnicity.
General Mohamed Dagalo, known as “Hemedi,” responded to the outcry on Thursday, expressing sorrow for the suffering in al-Fashir and stating that a committee would investigate the “violations” committed by his forces. However, observers remain skeptical, noting that Dagalo had previously promised investigations into RSF abuses, which were never carried out. Meanwhile, other RSF representatives denied any massacre occurred at the Saudi maternity hospital.
