Pay up or be executed: El Fasher survivors speak of kidnappings and mass killings

Pay Up or Be Executed: El Fasher Survivors Speak Out

Testimonies from survivors reveal a systematic campaign of executions and extortion in El Fasher, Sudan. The conflict reflects deep-rooted tensions between different ethnic groups and the impact of political and environmental pressures.

Ethnic and Historical Background

Most Arab groups in the region are nomadic herders of cattle and camels, while non-Arab groups are predominantly sedentary farmers. Historically, conflicts have arisen due to:

Identity divisions have hardened during wars but conflicts have not completely engulfed all communities. Some Arab groups joined the Janjaweed militia in the early 2000s, while others remained neutral. All Darfur communities have experienced marginalization by Khartoum elites.

Eyewitness Account from Ibrahim in El Fasher

Ibrahim returned to El Fasher to smuggle food for his starving family shortly before the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took control after an 18-month siege. He describes being trapped in a massacre:

“As I tried to escape, RSF vehicles ploughed through crowds, knocking people down and running over bodies. Hundreds, including myself, were captured and taken to a nearby reservoir where most were executed in the following days.”

Ibrahim’s testimony is among nearly a dozen collected from recent escapees of El Fasher, one of the largest cities in western Darfur, now under the control of a brutal militia.

Summary

This account exposes the brutal reality faced by El Fasher's civilians: a calculated campaign of violence linked to longstanding ethnic disputes and political marginalization in Darfur.

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