Sudan’s paramilitary leader, Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti, has announced an investigation into alleged atrocities committed by his Rapid Support Forces (RSF) during the capture of El-Fasher, the last army stronghold in Darfur.
The declaration comes amid mounting international condemnation and shocking reports of mass civilian killings following the RSF’s takeover of the city on Sunday. The UN Security Council is expected to hold an emergency meeting on Sudan, now in its third year of brutal civil war between the army and the RSF.
“I am deeply sorry for the tragedy that has befallen the people of El-Fasher,” Hemedti said, acknowledging that violations had occurred and pledging that a special committee had been dispatched to investigate.
However, rights groups and observers have dismissed similar RSF promises in the past as hollow, noting that no accountability followed previous massacres in El-Geneina in 2023 or the reported atrocities in Gezira State.
The UN World Health Organization said it was “appalled and deeply shocked” by reports that more than 460 civilians, including patients and medical staff, were executed at El-Fasher’s last functioning hospital. Videos posted online by RSF fighters appear to document summary executions and widespread destruction.
The RSF has denied accusations that the killings were ethnically driven, despite patterns of Arab militias targeting non-Arab communities in Darfur. Activists have renewed calls for international sanctions and pressure on the United Arab Emirates, which UN reports allege has been supplying military aid to the RSF—an accusation the UAE firmly denies.
El-Fasher’s fall marks a devastating milestone in Sudan’s conflict, effectively cementing a divided nation. The RSF now controls much of western Sudan and Kordofan to the south, while the army retains power in Khartoum, the Red Sea region, and central states.
The two rival factions were once allies, having seized power together in a 2021 coup before turning against each other over a proposed transition to civilian rule. Now, with El-Fasher in ruins and thousands feared dead, Sudan’s humanitarian crisis deepens, and calls for justice grow louder across the international community.
Leave a comment