'Our Mission Consists of Only Killing' - How Sudan's Ruthless Paramilitary Group Perpetrated a Massacre
Alert: This Account Contains Graphic Accounts of Killings.
Combatants smirk as they travel on the back of a utility vehicle, racing alongside a line of nine dead bodies and moving facing the descending Sudanese evening sky.
"See such effort. See this genocide," a fighter exclaims.
He smiles as he points the video equipment on his own face and his companion militiamen, their Rapid Support Forces insignia clearly shown: "The victims are all going to be killed in this manner."
The combatants are rejoicing over a mass killing that aid workers suspect claimed the lives of more than thousands of people in the Sudanese city of the Darfur city in recent weeks.
A City Severed from the World
After maintaining the city under encirclement for approximately two years, from August the RSF moved to strengthen its position and restrict the remaining civilian population.
Space-based imagery demonstrate that troops began to build a enormous berm - a built-up sand barrier - encircling the perimeter of the city, closing entry points and preventing aid.
As the siege escalated, seventy-eight individuals were slain in an militia assault on a mosque on 19 September, while the UN reported fifty-three further were killed in drone and artillery strikes on a refugee settlement in the autumn.
Disturbing Footage Reveals Unarmed People Gunned Down
At dawn on late October the militia overwhelmed the remaining government defenses and captured the central headquarters in the urban area, the command center of the 6th Infantry Division, as the military withdrew.
One of the most disturbing footage to appear and analysed showed the aftermath of a atrocity at a educational facility on the west of the city, where scores dead bodies were visible scattered over the floor.
An elderly individual dressed in a traditional garment sat by himself amid the bodies. He rotated to gaze as a militiaman carrying with a weapon proceeded down the staircase towards him. Raising his firearm, the gunman released a one round at the man, who fell to the floor motionless.
"How come is this one still alive," a combatant cried. "Kill this one."
Space-based imagery captured on October 26th indicated to confirm that killings were additionally carried out on the roads of the city, as reported by a analysis issued by the academic research center.
An witness who spoke stated he had observed "multiple of our kin being executed - they were gathered in a specific area and all killed."
RSF Officers Seek to Conduct Public Relations
Following the events that ensued from the massacre, militia commander acknowledged that his troops had committed "wrongdoings" and stated the occurrences would be looked into.
Among those arrested was following a report documenting his murders. Meticulously staged and produced recording published on the militia's official Telegram account show the commander being taken into a detention area at a detention facility on the outskirts of al-Fashir.
At the same time, the paramilitary force and affiliated online channels started seeking to alter the account.
Content depicting its militiamen providing assistance to residents were disseminated by various users, while the force's public relations unit shared multiple recordings purporting to demonstrate the proper treatment of army prisoners of war.
In spite of the social media initiative being employed by the militia, their actions in el-Fasher have sparked global condemnation.