'Our Mission Consists of Exclusively Killing' - The Way Sudan's Ruthless Paramilitary Group Carried out a Mass Killing
Alert: This Account Contains Graphic Accounts of Shootings.
Militiamen chuckle as they ride on the back of a pick-up truck, racing by a row of nine lifeless forms and driving in the direction of the sinking African sunset.
"Observe such effort. Observe this mass destruction," a combatant exclaims.
The individual smiles as he directs the camera on his person and his associate fighters, their RSF insignia clearly shown: "The victims will all die like this."
The combatants are rejoicing over a mass killing that aid workers fear claimed the lives of more than two thousand civilians in the African metropolis of el-Fasher during October.
An Urban Center Isolated from the Outside
Following their control of the urban area under encirclement for nearly two years, from August the paramilitary force proceeded to reinforce its control and restrict the surviving civilian population.
Orbital photography reveal that troops began to construct a enormous berm - a raised earthen wall - around the boundaries of the city, closing roads and halting aid.
While the blockade escalated, multiple people were killed in an RSF assault on a place of worship on 19 September, while the UN stated 53 more were slain in drone and artillery bombardments on a refugee settlement in fall.
Graphic Video Shows Defenseless Individuals Executed
At dawn on October 26th the militia overwhelmed the final army positions and captured the main headquarters in the community, the main facility of the Military Unit, as the government forces pulled back.
Perhaps the most disturbing footage to surface and examined showed the consequences of a massacre at a university building on the west of the city, where numerous dead bodies were seen strewn over the floor.
An older person clad in a robe was seated alone amid the bodies. He rotated to look as a militiaman equipped with a firearm walked along the staircase in the direction of him. Raising his firearm, the gunman fired a single bullet at the victim, who collapsed to the surface motionless.
"Why is this person even alive," another militiaman exclaimed. "Shoot this person."
Satellite images recorded on 26 October indicated to verify that shootings were additionally carried out on the streets of el-Fasher, according to a study published by the university analysis team.
One observer who spoke stated they had witnessed "many of our family members getting executed - these individuals were gathered in one place and everyone murdered."
RSF Leaders Try to Carry Out Damage Control
In the days that followed the atrocity, RSF chief acknowledged that his fighters had perpetrated "atrocities" and stated the incidents would be looked into.
Part of the arrested was after a report detailing his executions. Carefully staged and modified footage posted on the paramilitary's official Telegram channel reveal him being taken into a cell at a prison on the perimeter of the city.
At the same time, the paramilitary force and connected online profiles commenced trying to alter the account.
Posts depicting its fighters handing out aid to residents were disseminated by several users, while the paramilitary's public relations unit released multiple recordings purporting to display the compassionate treatment of government detainees.
In spite of the digital campaign being used by the paramilitary, their conduct in al-Fashir have sparked international condemnation.