Horrific Atrocities Committed: Recordings Document Ethnic Crimes by the Rapid Support Forces Militia
Sudan Events – Agencies
Two decades after the genocide in Darfur, The Washington Post has obtained new evidence documenting a new wave of killings during the ongoing conflict in Sudan.
*A Bloody Massacre:
Videos from Darfur, obtained by The Washington Post, document mass killings carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia in June 2023, targeting Black African civilians with racist motivations. The footage shows brutal killings and widespread looting, raising fears of a recurrence of the previous genocide in the region.
The videos, from the towns of Kutum and Kassab Camp in the Darfur region of Sudan, obtained by the American newspaper The Washington Post, reveal racially motivated mass killings by RSF forces led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as “Hemedti,” in June 2023. The newspaper reported that the killings of the young men seen in the videos were part of a massacre that claimed at least 73 lives, according to Kutum residents and the UN Refugee Agency.
*Brutality of the Forces:
The newspaper’s report indicates that the footage shows the brutality of the RSF forces toward their victims, with militia members boasting about the bodies of the executed, evoking memories of previous violence in Darfur that amounted to genocide.
Human rights groups say the RSF forces are responsible for most of the atrocities targeting Black Africans. Despite the RSF’s claims that these accusations are exaggerated, the footage obtained by The Washington Post reveals the deep-seated racial hatred driving the violence in Darfur, rekindling fears of another genocide in the region.
The newspaper outlines the evolution of the conflict, noting that following escalating tensions in Kutum, Sudan, triggered by the killing of an Arab officer, RSF fighters and their Arab allies launched a brutal attack on Kassab Camp, near the town.
In anticipation of the attack, African families residing in the camp built trenches and barricades. However, despite the defenses, the RSF forces and Arab fighters, who arrived in large numbers, rained heavy gunfire on the area, causing widespread panic and many casualties. Eyewitnesses described the situation as catastrophic.
*Fires Ignited:
During the RSF and their allied Arab fighters’ assault on Kassab, the home of the Suleiman family was stormed. According to a witness, the RSF forces, who were searching for men, did not believe the mother’s claims that no men were inside, as her eldest son was only 14 years old.
A witness described seeing the mother desperately pleading for her children’s lives before being struck with a rifle butt. The fighters, dressed in RSF uniforms, took the five brothers from the Suleiman family and two others. Shortly after, gunshots and then fireworks were heard, and soon after, fires broke out, burning homes and tents. The UN reported 54 casualties from the attack.
In the town of Kutum, RSF forces and Arab militias carried out a brutal 15-day campaign of looting and violence against non-Arab residents. The RSF targeted civilians, killed them, looted homes, and stole valuables while sparing Arab-owned properties. The attacks resulted in the deaths of 19 civilians.
Residents mentioned that the leader of the attack was Lieutenant Colonel Ali Hamid Al-Taher, one of the RSF commanders, who was shown in militia propaganda videos present in Kutum in June 2023. Al-Taher was later killed in a separate conflict, and it was reported that Major General Al-Nour Al-Quba, another RSF leader, was present during the attacks.
Following these waves of severe violence, African tribal leaders sought protection from the RSF forces but were met with hostility. During a meeting, the head of the Arab delegation, Al-Hadi Hamid Abd al-Nabi, allegedly made a racist remark, although he denied this. The next day, another tribal leader who challenged Abd al-Nabi’s views on racial equality was killed.
