November 3, 2025
As the Sudanese military’s top brass secured their own safe passage out of a besieged city they left tens of thousands of civilians in the hands of a brutal militia
Background
After 18 months of relentless bombardment and fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Al Fashir fell to the RSF last week, igniting a wave of horrific, large-scale massacres that many in the international community warned about.
In an investigation with Sky News and Sudan War Monitor, Lighthouse Reports has learned that the top commanders of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) reportedly brokered a deal to secure their own escape, while leaving junior soldiers and thousands of civilians at risk.
An estimated 70,000 people – mostly civilians and some fighters – have fled the city. In what humanitarians on the ground say is a deeply worrying trend, less than 10,000 have arrived in the first city outside of Al Fashir, Tawila, where the UN and international NGOs have a limited presence.
Through open source analysis and on-the-ground sources, Lighthouse Reports has investigated the fates of those nearly 60,000 civilians who fled and are missing and the others who remain trapped in Al Fashir. Lighthouse Reports confirmed that the RSF separated women and children from the men as they attempted to flee Al Fashir and later killed hundreds of men visible in the video. Some of the men visible in videos verified by Lighthouse and partners were confirmed by sources to have been chased by cars, motorcycles and camels with intentional cruelty and chaos.
Two sources from the Rapid Support Forces confirmed to Lighthouse Reports that the killing was at least in part carried out on the basis of ethnicity. They detailed strategic planning to target specific ethnic groups within the city.
One of the commanders explained that the Rapid Support Forces allowed members of non-targeted ethnic groups to flee while forcing others to remain in the city. He said the paramilitary also removed non-Arab fighters within their ranks and allied ranks and prevented them from entering the city during the attack. These men were reportedly gathered in nearby towns in order to ensure they would not intervene to stop the massacre of their own ethnic groups.
So far, RSF sources estimate that the death toll is at least 7,000, with thousands unaccounted for.
Finally, according to videos verified by Lighthouse Reports, the Rapid Support Forces are terrorizing civilians as they attempt to escape to safety in Tawila. Fighters are detaining civilians as they attempt to flee and demanding ransoms in order to keep them alive and secure their release.
Lighthouse Reports and our partners have documented evidence and firsthand testimony of rolling massacres and potential war crimes in the days after the Rapid Support Forces cemented their grip on Al Fashir. Humanitarians on the ground today now warn of a worsening and catastrophic situation for Sudanese civilians in and around Al Fashir who continue to struggle for their safety.
METHODS
Lighthouse Reports, Sudan War Monitor and Sky News combined open-source investigation, video verification, satellite analysis and interviews with sources on the ground to document killings and detentions carried out by the RSF in Al Fashir, and the movement of civilians toward the Guernei area northwest of the city.
We collected and archived dozens of videos filmed by RSF soldiers and shared on platforms including TikTok and Facebook between 25 and 31 October 2025. Each video was reviewed for time and location based indicators, such as landmarks, vegetation, road layout, and shadows, to establish where and when they might have been filmed. All footage was catalogued in a structured spreadsheet that enabled cross-referencing of relevant overlaps in the content.
By comparing recurring visual details and clothing across multiple clips, we were able to identify the same individuals in civilian attire appearing across different locations. This allowed us to reconstruct verified sequences showing groups under RSF control progressing in the fields northwest of Al Fashir, on the way to Guernei. Across these videos, violence against detained groups can be observed including hitting, kicking, forced chanting, and in some executions or killing by gunfire.
Satellite imagery from Planet Labs and Maxar was also used to assist in this analysis and corroborate findings.