The sands surrounding the western Sudanese city of El-Fasher have turned red with blood — a scene visible even from space.
Satellite photos show hundreds of bodies lying near vehicles and embankments, with reports indicating that civilians were shot while trying to flee after the city fell to RSF forces.

After 18 months of siege, the RSF captured all major cities in the Darfur region.
According to allied army sources, the paramilitary group committed “horrific crimes against innocent civilians” on October 26–27, executing more than 2,000 people, mostly women, children, and the elderly.

Images taken on October 27, 2025, show rows of bodies stretched out in the sand outside what was once the city’s children’s hospital, forming a line that extends from the building to the compound gate.
Additional photos taken the next day revealed at least four new clusters of corpses not visible in earlier satellite images, according to Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab.

A report released by Yale University on October 28 states that RSF actions “may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity, potentially reaching the level of genocide.” The university’s analysis confirms long-standing fears of mass atrocities in Darfur.

Video footage circulating online shows RSF fighters preparing for executions and reprisals amid ongoing attacks and mass displacement, with survivors reporting that men were taken away on trucks and never seen again.

Tens of thousands of residents have fled El-Fasher since its capture, seeking refuge in nearby areas such as Tawila.

A Nation in Chaos

Sudan has been plunged into civil war since April 2023, when tensions between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF erupted into full-scale fighting.
The conflict began in the capital Khartoum and has since spread nationwide. More than 150,000 people have been killed, and over 14 million displaced.

The RSF, notorious for its brutality, has been accused of massacring up to 15,000 civilians in the West Darfur capital of El-Geneina.
Both sides have been accused of war crimes, including deliberate attacks on civilians.

According to Amnesty International, RSF fighters have carried out systematic sexual violence and torture, using terror to subdue the civilian population.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed deep concern on Monday over the escalating violence, calling for the immediate and safe delivery of humanitarian aid.
He condemned reports of indiscriminate attacks on civilians and infrastructure, as well as gender-based and ethnically motivated violence.

After 18 months of siege, El-Fasher has become one of the darkest symbols of Sudan’s war. Refugee camps surrounding the city are in famine conditions, and residents have resorted to eating animal feed to survive.
The UN estimates that 260,000 civilians, half of them children, remain trapped without access to humanitarian assistance.