Investigation Reveals Siege and Mass Killings in El Fasher, Sudan

An investigative report by Al Jazeera’s Fault Lines and Lighthouse Reports exposes the humanitarian catastrophe in El Fasher, Sudan, where civilians endured an eighteen-month siege by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The investigation details how the RSF surrounded the western city, constructing earth barriers to cut off food supplies and escape routes. When the city fell in October, thousands of civilians were killed while attempting to flee, with survivors recounting scenes of people being shot on roads and bodies left behind. Rights groups characterize the RSF’s campaign in Darfur as systematic, raising serious concerns about ethnic cleansing. By combining survivor testimony, satellite imagery, and data from the Sudan War Monitor, the report reconstructs the timeline of the siege and investigates allegations of mass killings, disappearances, and other severe human rights abuses. This comprehensive analysis highlights the deliberate starvation and trapping of the population, offering visual and testimonial evidence of the atrocities committed during the conflict.