“Killed Without Knowing Why”: Sudanese Exiles Say Darfur’s Massacres Have Returned

Decades after Darfur was the scene of some of the 21st century's worst atrocities, Sudanese exiles watching from abroad say fresh reports of bloodshed — particularly from El-Fasher after its fall to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) last month — echo the region's brutal campaigns of 2003–2008.

Echoes of an old horror

For many in the diaspora, accounts from El-Fasher mirror memories of when then-president Omar al-Bashir armed Arab militias, the Janjaweed, to crush a rebellion. Witnesses describe summary executions, mass displacement and entire neighbourhoods burned or emptied at gunpoint.

“People are being killed without knowing why. It feels like the end of the world,” said Abdullah Yasser Adam, a Fur researcher from Nyala now living in Cairo, who is using a pseudonym for security reasons.

Survivors recounted scenes of planes overhead, mounted fighters, and long columns of terrified civilians. Many exiles say the methods are the same as in the earlier conflict — only the weapons are more advanced.

Who is involved

The RSF is led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, known as Hemedti, once a camel trader who rose to command under Bashir. After Bashir's ouster in 2019 Hemedti tried to recast himself as a statesman, but disputes over integrating the RSF into Sudan's military helped trigger the current war in April 2023.

The wider conflict has left millions displaced. UN estimates put deaths from the earlier Darfur conflict at roughly 300,000 and displaced at 2.7 million; today some six million Sudanese live in exile, including about four million who fled after fighting renewed in 2023.

Allegations of atrocities and international concern

Both sides of the current conflict face serious accusations: the army has been accused of indiscriminate air strikes and alleged use of chemical agents, while the RSF has been accused of executions, rape and looting. Last week the UN Human Rights Council ordered investigators to probe recent alleged atrocities in El-Fasher.

Nearly 100,000 people fled El-Fasher after its fall, and tens of thousands remain trapped in severe food insecurity following what residents describe as an 18-month siege. Hospitals and markets have been shelled and humanitarian access has been repeatedly blocked.

Fears of regional spread

Exiles and aid volunteers warn the violence could spread. Activists say foreign backing has made parts of the conflict deadlier: the UAE has been accused of supplying weapons to the RSF, while analysts point to support for the army from countries including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Russia and Iran — allegations some states deny.

Coman Saeed, a volunteer with Sudan's Emergency Response Rooms network now exiled in Uganda, warned of a similar massacre if the RSF captures Dilling and Kadugli in South Kordofan. Back in Darfur, people who remain in towns such as Nyala live in constant fear of being targeted, exiles say.

Voices of the diaspora

For many who fled Darfur, the new violence is not just geopolitics but a personal trauma resurfacing. Poet Emtithal Mahmoud recounted hiding under a bed as smoke rose over her hometown and seeing soldiers' boots with blood on them. Others say the pattern — bombing followed by militia violence against survivors — has repeated across decades.

As investigators begin to examine recent events, exiles urge the international community to act to protect civilians and secure humanitarian access. For many Sudanese abroad, the immediate priority is the safety of friends and family who remain trapped inside the country.