UN aid workers describe Sudan’s el-Fasher as a ‘crime scene’ after RSF takeover

United Nations aid staff who accessed Sudan’s el-Fasher for the first time after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took control found few survivors of the attacks, a senior UN official said on Monday.

In statements to Reuters and AFP on Monday, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, Denise Brown, described the city as a “crime scene”. 

She said that Friday’s visit intended to look into whether the city could be accessed safely for the UN to get basic supplies in. She added: “But to be honest, we’re still very concerned about those who are injured, who we didn’t see, those who may be detained.” 

More than 100,000 are estimated to have fled from the North Darfur city since late October, when the area was taken over from the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and its Joint Forces allies after 500 days of siege. 

It took UN workers weeks to negotiate entry to the city, where only a few remained, who were thought to be too old, sick or injured to leave, said Brown.

A report from the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab earlier this month found that the RSF was conducting a campaign to cover up mass atrocities in el-Fasher, including destroying evidence by burying and burning bodies.

According to victims and aid workers who have spoken to Middle East Eye, the RSF has forcibly extracted blood from civilians attempting to flee el-Fashar. 

Sudan's RSF conducting campaign to cover up mass atrocities in el-Fasher

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Multiple witnesses told MEE that the paramilitary group has carried out mass executions of civilians based on their ethnicity or their perceived political ideology, as well as countless cases of rape and sexual violence.

At the beginning of November, Mohamed Hassan told MEE from el-Fasher: “I have seen the bodies in Daraja Oula… The RSF entered the neighbourhood one by one and fired on everybody.” 

Hamid Adbul Rahim, who arrived in Tawila after many days of walking, told MEE that the RSF arrested many of his family members and then “called me and my uncle asking us to pay 15 million Sudanese pounds (around $500) for each of them”. 

Satellite imagery of el-Fasher analysed by Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab showed “38 instances of reddish discolouration consistent with blood or other bodily fluids”, according to the report - which means that blood spilled could be seen from space.

UAE 'complicity' 

This attack has been one of the bloodiest episodes since the war in Sudan began in April 2023, leading to what the UN has called the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. 

Although Abu Dhabi denies the charge, mounting evidence points to the United Arab Emirates as the main sponsor of the RSF. The UAE has also faced accusations of complicity in genocide at the International Court of Justice, in a case filed by the government of Sudan in April but which has been stuck over a lack of jurisdiction. 

The scale of atrocities carried out in the aftermath of the capture of el-Fasher has prompted an international backlash with frequent protests and a focused lobbying campaign against the UAE. 

In London, a billboard appeared on Oxford Street this month highlighting the UAE’s role in the war: it pictures an influencer posing in Dubai with the caption: “Your selfie won’t look so good once you find out what they’re doing in Sudan.”