‘Civilians were slain in their beds’: chaos and brutality prevail following taking of El Fasher
A nurse named Nawal Khalil had been serving as a medical volunteer for three years in the El Fasher South medical facility after the city fell seized last Sunday by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). She was busy treating patients, including an elderly woman who needed a blood transfusion, when the attack began.
“Six injured soldiers were killed and civilians in their beds – including some women,” she states. “The outcome remains unknown regarding my other patients. I was forced to flee when they stormed the hospital.”
Khalil, 27, was hit by a bullet in her right foot and her thigh while RSF combatants gained control of the adjacent military command center. She escaped from the city and journeyed by foot for 24 hours, injured and without food, to get to the settlement of Garney. “On the way, they confiscated my phone and currency,” she describes. “I ended up with nothing.”
In excess of 1,000 persons – comprising women and children – journeyed by walking for 48 hours to reach the town of Tawila within North Darfur after fleeing El Fasher, which fell under control after an 18-month siege.
The town of Tawila, around 55 kilometers to the west away from El Fasher, is governed by by the SLA faction commanded by Abdul Wahid Mohamed al-Nur.
Last Tuesday, the allied Joint Forces – who are allied with Sudan’s army – blamed the RSF of killing more than 2,000 civilians since the fall of the city. The UN said there were videos depicting dozens of weaponless men who were shot or found dead, encircled by RSF combatants.”
Contextual Information
Fighting broke out in Khartoum on 15 April 2023 as a growing contest for power among the two primary factions of the armed forces leadership ultimately became violent.
Among the combatants are the Sudanese armed forces, who remain broadly loyal to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the country’s de facto ruler. Opposing him are the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), an assembly of militia groups who follow the former warlord General Dagalo, known as Hemedti.
The RSF was initially founded by the ex-dictator Bashir's regime as an Arab anti-rebellion militia named the Janjaweed, which quickly became synonymous with widespread atrocities. Back in 2013, Bashir converted the organization to become the RSF, sending them to suppress a fresh rebellion in South Darfur.
The conflict has plunged Sudan into “one of the worst humanitarian nightmares in recent history”, based on UN statements. It has generated the world’s worst displacement crisis, dispersing over 10 million individuals inside the nation plus 4 million who escaped to adjacent nations, generating growing stress on both Chad and South Sudan.
Present Circumstances
Per observer reports, thousands more civilians stay confined by RSF forces and allied militias in Garney, in the southwestern direction from El Fasher. Several are previous army members from the Sudanese army, the allied Joint Forces and other militant organizations that were previously aligned with the military. Reports indicate they're imprisoned as they lack funds for ransom requests between five and ten million Sudanese pounds (around six to twelve thousand pounds), according to survivors who reached Tawila. Those unable to pay remain imprisoned for several days, and in some cases let go solely after developing critical health conditions.
Reports suggest the SLA-AW has authorized army soldiers running from El Fasher to enter Tawila if they relinquish their arms.
Adam Yagoub, twenty-eight years old, a driver from Sennar in central Sudan, closely avoided death after being captured by three militiamen on camels close to Garney.
“They wanted to cut my head off using a knife,” he tells, exhibiting his limb, which one militant assaulted with the stock of a Kalashnikov. “Then one of them recognised me – his brother was my colleague – and begged them not to kill me. Our group contained 18 individuals who exited El Fasher as a group, however just eight arrived in Tawila. I assume the others died.”
Yagoub says he observed 22 corpses near what he called a deceptive well utilized by RSF forces and partner armed groups in the area connecting Garney and Tawila. “This is an ambush,” he comments. “Individuals travel all day lacking water, and when they get to it, the armed groups lie in wait. They murdered 22 males at that location and removed the corpses to conceal them.”
A different medical worker who escaped El Fasher South hospital following Sunday's assault said RSF fighters entered using one doorway and commenced firing upon patients within the emergency department, causing at least eight fatalities. “We escaped through a different gate, but they hit me on the head with a firearm,” he recounts.
Through a video declaration this past Wednesday, the RSF commander, General Dagalo, called Hemedti, stated that any military personnel or officer who had “violated the right of any individual would face consequences.
Many of those who escaped from El Fasher passed hours hiding near the army’s artillery unit prior to escaping westward under cover of darkness. Previously displaced households originating from the urban Abu Shouk settlement were compelled to relocate again, taking asylum in the Daraja Oula district prior to ultimately traveling to Tawila.
People apprehended by RSF forces in Garney were reportedly given {water mixed with flour|flour