Local and international rights groups have raised an alarm as reports of mass graves and the burning of civilians by Sudan's paramilitary forces emerge from the embattled city of el-Fasher.
The Sudan Doctors Network said Sunday that hundreds of bodies have been removed from the streets and neighborhoods in the city by the RSF, with some buried in mass graves and others burned.
"The RSF has collected hundreds of bodies from the streets and the city’s neighborhoods and buried some in mass graves and burnt others in a desperate attempt to conceal evidence of their crimes against civilians," the Sudan Doctors Network said in a statement.
It called the burying of civilians a "full-fledged genocide” and a "violation of all international and religious norms that prohibit the mutilation of corpses and guarantee the dead the right to a dignified burial."
"The situation in el-Fasher has gone beyond a humanitarian catastrophe to become a systematic genocide, targeting human life and dignity amid an appalling international silence that amounts to complicity," the statement said.
The network urged the international community to act swiftly, demanding an independent international inquiry into the atrocities in el-Fasher.
"The RSF crimes cannot be erased by burying or burning,” the medical group said, calling on the international community to take immediate action to launch an independent international investigation into atrocities against civilians in el-Fasher.
The deteriorating situation has drawn international condemnation, including from the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Writing on X, Tedros decried the ongoing bloodshed in Sudan, referencing the recent killing of Dr. Adam Ibrahim Ismail in el-Fasher and urging an end to violence against medical workers.
"Saddened to learn of the killing of Dr Adam Ibrahim Ismail in yet another tragedy for Sudan's El-Fasher region,” adding that the "WHO mourns the passing of Dr Ismail and demands an end to violence against health workers," he said.
“Sudan’s bloodshed must end ... Peace is the best medicine,” Tedros wrote.
The U.N. echoed the urgency, warning that civilians trapped by the hostilities are suffering on “an unimaginable scale.”
Li Fung, U.N. Human Rights Representative in Sudan, said in a video statement Saturday that el-Fasher has become “a city of grief” after enduring an escalation of “brutal attacks."
Fung detailed the widespread impact: hundreds killed, including women, children, and wounded individuals seeking refuge in hospitals and schools, with entire families cut down as they tried to flee or simply vanished.
The U.N. reported that thousands, including medical workers and journalists, have been detained. Sexual violence and protection risks for the most vulnerable, including the elderly, the disabled, and the wounded, remain widespread.
“This is a systematic assault on human life and dignity,” Fung said, citing incidents often committed along ethnic lines.
The violence has triggered unprecedented levels of displacement. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 7,000 civilians fled el-Fasher between Nov. 5 and 8, adding to the nearly 89,000 who have escaped since the RSF seized control of the city on Oct. 26.
Most displaced residents are seeking safety in nearby towns, including Tawila, Mellit and Saraf Omra. The IOM warned of severe insecurity on roads, impeding civilian movement, and labeled the situation "tense and volatile."
Survivors and aid workers say those who remain in el-Fasher are facing extreme hardship. The United Nations noted that entire families have been killed and that routes out of the city are unsafe, with many residents at grave risk of further violence.
Despite communications disruptions and limited access for humanitarian agencies, the U.N. Human Rights Office in Sudan said it continues to document violations and press for accountability.
"El-Fasher is bleeding and the time to act is now. The violence must be stopped. Civilians must be protected. Victims need access to assistance and redress. Accountability is the only way forward to prevent these horrors from reoccurring. The world needs to act now," Fung said.
Earlier on Oct. 26, RSF forces took control of el-Fasher, carrying out widespread killings and atrocities, according to local and global organizations. Observers warn that the sustained assault could further entrench Sudan’s geographical partition as the war drags on.
The conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF erupted on April 15, 2023. A series of attempted mediations by regional and international groups have so far failed to end the fighting, which has killed thousands and displaced millions across the country.
