Our Task Is Only Killing' - The Way Sudan's Vicious Militia Conducted a Mass Killing

Alert: This Account Contains Disturbing Accounts of Shootings.

Fighters smirk as they move on the bed of a pick-up truck, hurrying by a row of several dead bodies and heading facing the setting Sudanese sun.

"Look at all this accomplishment. Look at this act of mass destruction," a combatant cheers.

He grins as he turns the video equipment on his own face and his fellow militiamen, their paramilitary insignia visible: "These people shall all die like this."

The men are exulting in a massacre that aid workers believe resulted in the deaths of more than 2,000 people in the Sudan's city of el-Fasher during October.

An Urban Center Cut Off from the Outside

Following their control of the community under encirclement for approximately 24 months, from August the paramilitary force moved to reinforce its position and restrict the surviving civilian population.

Orbital photography show that troops commenced to build a immense sand wall - a elevated dirt embankment - encircling the perimeter of the city, closing access routes and preventing relief supplies.

As the siege worsened, seventy-eight civilians were murdered in an militia strike on a religious building on 19 September, while the UN reported fifty-three additional were killed in unmanned aircraft and heavy weapon attacks on a refugee settlement in fall.

Graphic Recording Depicts Weaponless People Gunned Down

By sunrise on October 26th the paramilitary force overwhelmed the final government positions and captured the primary compound in the city, the main facility of the 6th Infantry Division, as the army pulled back.

Among the most disturbing footage to emerge and studied revealed the results of a mass killing at a university building on the western side of the city, where scores lifeless forms were visible strewn over the floor.

An older man dressed in a traditional garment was seated by himself amid the corpses. The individual looked to look as a fighter equipped with a rifle moved along the steps facing the individual. pointing his rifle, the gunman discharged a one round at the man, who fell to the floor motionless.

"How come is this individual even living," another militiaman cried. "Shoot him."

Space-based imagery taken on October 26th appeared to verify that shootings were also conducted on the streets of al-Fashir, as reported by a study released by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab.

One observer who provided testimony reported the individual had observed "numerous of our kin getting massacred - the victims were collected in one place and everyone murdered."

Paramilitary Commanders Attempt to Conduct Damage Control

Following the events that came after the killings, RSF chief acknowledged that his fighters had perpetrated "violations" and stated the occurrences would be looked into.

Among those arrested was following a analysis documenting his executions. Carefully choreographed and edited video posted on the militia's official Telegram channel show the commander being escorted into a cell at a jail on the edges of the city.

Meanwhile, the paramilitary force and connected digital profiles began seeking to reframe the story.

Content showing its fighters handing out assistance to civilians were disseminated by various accounts, while the militia's communications team published multiple videos allegedly to show the proper treatment of military prisoners of war.

Despite the digital campaign being deployed by the RSF, their actions in al-Fashir have sparked worldwide outrage.

Erin Ross
Erin Ross

A film critic and historian with over a decade of experience analyzing global cinema, focusing on narrative techniques and cultural impact.