Yale HRL report corroborates ‘RSF massacre’ in North Kordofan
Satellite imagery shows smouldering ruins and thermal scarring across Shaq El Noum, consistent with deliberate arson. Smoke detected on 14 July was absent on 8 July, indicating recent destruction (Photo: Yale Humanitarian Research Lab)
A new report by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) on Friday, corroborates accounts of the massacre by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Shaq El Noum, North Kordofan, as part of a broader campaign to encircle El Obeid.
The findings, based on high-resolution satellite imagery from 13–14 July, show extensive destruction in the village and lend visual confirmation to earlier reports of the RSF assault.
Local sources, including the Sudan Doctors’ Network, reported that at least 11 civilians were killed, among them children and pregnant women, though some metrics put the death toll at 200 or more, according to the HRL report.
Sudan’s Emergency Lawyers stated that RSF fighters using drones and heavy weapons attacked the village, while residents tried to defend themselves with Kalashnikovs. Many victims were reportedly burned alive in their homes or shot while fleeing. RSF reportedly looted and attacked neighbouring villages, killing dozens more.
Yale also corroborated signs of military damage in El Obeid, including Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) positions hit by recent fighting, as well as new burial sites and a growing number of temporary shelters likely housing displaced families.
El Obeid now hosts more than 30,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), according to state sources.
SAF strikes
In West Kordofan, four barrel bombs dropped by the Sudanese Air Force on El Fula killed and injured civilians, including tea sellers and market workers.
An eyewitness described the scene to Radio Dabanga: “There was the smell of death everywhere, and blood and body parts were scattered.”
Last week, an SAF airstrike on shelters in Abu Zabad killed eight people, including children. Rockets also struck Osama bin Zaid and El Wefaq schools, both being used as shelters. Local emergency committees have labelled these repeated attacks on civilians and shelter sites war crimes.
The RSF claimed to have taken control of Umm Sumeima, a strategic town west of El Obeid, though SAF-aligned forces countered the claim hours later
Yale’s satellite data confirms visible combat damage in the area, but control of the town remains disputed.
Read the full report here: RSF Alleged Massacre at Shag Alnom, Multidirectional Attacks on El-Obeid
and then