Yale lab ‘confirms RSF mass killings and cover-up in El Fasher’

The Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Laboratory (HRL) said it has confirmed, with a “high degree of confidence”, that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) carried out large-scale and systematic mass killings in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, after taking full control of the city and its surroundings on 26 October 2025.

According to the report published by the laboratory on Tuesday, the RSF targeted civilians attempting to flee El Fasher as well as those who took refuge in Daraja Oula (First Class neighbourhood), the city’s last major civilian shelter.

The report alleges RSF forces then launched what the report describes as a “systematic multi-week campaign” to destroy evidence of the killings by burying, burning and removing human remains on a large scale. The laboratory said this pattern of body disposal “is ongoing”.

Findings are based on the analysis of high-resolution satellite imagery and open-source information. Yale HRL reviewed satellite images collected between 26 October and 1 November 2025 and monitored all identified sites until 28 November 2025 to track changes in activity.

The laboratory identified at least 150 clusters of objects consistent with human remains that first appeared during this period. It also documented 38 instances of reddish ground discolouration consistent with blood or other bodily fluids, including 33 directly linked to the clusters, as well as at least 20 cases of burned objects and eight instances of disturbed earth.

Satellite imagery showed transport and cargo vehicles compatible with RSF activity near at least 31 clusters.

According to the report, the clusters reveal four main patterns: killings as people fled the city, mass killings including door-to-door and execution-style violence in Daraja Oula, killings at sites possibly linked to detention or security screening, and killings near military installations.

The laboratory said it distinguished clusters consistent with human remains from debris, noting that debris did not show changes such as disappearance, burning or burial, while these behaviours were observed at the killing sites.

Yale HRL concluded that the evidence shows widespread and systematic mass killings in El Fasher and called for urgent international access to the city to provide humanitarian aid and secure remaining evidence.