Sudan: What photos and videos can tell us about the El-Fasher massacres
After an 18-month siege, the Sudanese city of El-Fasher fell on Monday, October 27. It was the last major city in Darfur that was not under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group run by General Mohamed Hamdan "Hemedti" Dagalo. Since entering the city, the RSF have massacred civilians in several neighbourhoods, as shown in images analysed by the FRANCE 24 Observers team.
Dozens of images from Sudan’s El-Fasher have surfaced on Sudanese social media since Monday, October 27. One video shows pick-ups crammed with armed men speeding along the road ahead of fleeing civilians. Another shows fighters parading through the streets. And yet another shows trenches dug in the sand, piled with lifeless bodies.
These chilling videos were filmed and posted by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who took the city from the Sudanese army after more than a year and a half of siege. For the RSF, it is a major step towards wresting control of
Sudan from the army.
The RSF emerged in the aftermath of the Janjaweed paramilitary group, known for having carried out ethnically based massacres in
Darfur between 2003 and 2005. And since their capture of El-Fasher, the RSF have been filming themselves in triumph in the streets.
This isn’t the first time that Abu Lulu has performed his atrocities in front of the camera. On August 18, a video filmed in El-Fasher emerged online showing Abu Lulu executing another man in cold blood.
Before killing that man, Abu Lulu asked him about his ethnicity. When the man replies that he is Maba, one of the non-Arabic ethnic groups from Darfur regularly targeted by the RSF, Abu Lulu fires his pistol seven times at the man.
A few hours after the recent videos of Abu Lulu were posted online, the RSF tried to distance itself from him, claiming that he wasn’t part of their group. However, in images posted on his
TikTok account, you can see Abu Lulu wearing a badge emblazoned with the RSF logo.
These different images posted on Abu Lulu’s TikTok account show him wearing a badge emblazoned with the logo of the Rapid Support Forces (shown in the upper right). © TikTok / user32729159961353
On Thursday, the RSF finally announced on their
Telegram channel that Abu Lulu had been arrested: "Abu Lulu and a number of those involved in
human rights violations in El-Fasher arrested by RSF." The post also features a video showing Abu Lulu in handcuffs and behind bars.
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