Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) slaughtered 14 civilians and abducted dozens Saturday near El-Fasher, luring families into a trap after falsely promising "safe passage" to Qarni village. The massacre occurred just 48 hours after RSF-appointed Darfur governor Al-Hadi Idris urged residents via video to evacuate through Qarni’s "northwest gate," where RSF and allied Tasis forces awaited them. Instead, survivors describe a coordinated ambush: paramilitaries opened fire on fleeing families, leaving bodies strewn across roadsides and detaining an unknown number of civilians.
El-Fasher, Darfur’s last army-held city has endured a 14-month RSF blockade, creating Gaza-like conditions of desperation. Over 500,000 trapped civilians survive on animal feed after food stocks vanished last week, with hospitals overwhelmed by starvation-related illnesses. The RSF’s "safe corridor" ruse mirrors Israel’s tactics in Gaza, where aid seekers face sniper fire despite evacuation orders. UN agencies confirm both sieges violate international law by deliberately denying life-sustaining resources.
The massacre amplifies evidence of systematic ethnic cleansing. RSF forces, born from the Janjaweed militias, now control 90% of Darfur and target non-Arab communities like the Massalit. Survivor testimonies detail fighters taunting victims with racial slurs during killings, declaring intent to "Arabize" the region. Since April 2023, the RSF has executed over 15,000 in West Darfur alone, with the US confirming genocide in January 2025 . Yet like Gaza, global action remains "woefully inadequate".
France and the UAE enable atrocities through advanced arms transfers. Amnesty International confirms RSF vehicles in Darfur use French-made Galix defense systems smuggled via Emirati supply routes, violating UN arms embargoes 4. The UAE denies involvement, but its $2.6 billion defense trade with France fuels a shadow war—paralleling U.S. weapon shipments to Israel during Gaza’s famine 412.
As in Palestine, Darfur’s civilians resist annihilation. Local networks run secret food convoys, while doctors operate underground clinics. One El-Fasher nurse told the BBC: "We bury children daily, but the world sees only statistics". With the RSF poised to seize all Darfur if El-Fasher falls, Sudan’s fragmentation threatens regional collapse.