Original image, Social media
- Writer, Peter Mwai, Kumar Malhotra & Matt Murphy
- Name the person who wrote the story, BBC Verify
The investigation conducted by the BBC, which confirms many videos that show fighters celebrating the beginning of the massacre, and later killing the survivors, found that they belong to the Sudanese RSF fighters.
The BBC confirmed that at least 80 people died in the October attack in al-Seriha in Gezira state, where the United Nations said the number could reach 124 people.
A witness told the BBC investigation department that he saw some civilians shot by the fighters as they tried to escape.
It seems that the defection of a senior commander of the RSF in Gezira state to the government forces caused the massacre.
In a statement sent to the BBC, the RSF denied that its soldiers were involved in the killings, saying that “the duty of the soldiers is to protect civilians and ensure security and peace, but not to kill them.”
Human rights groups have condemned the 20-month-long leadership struggle between government forces and the RSF, both of which are accused of war crimes.
Warning: This article contains gory information and images of corpses, which may disturb some readers.
How the switch led to a revenge attack
On October 20, the Sudanese army announced that Abu Aqla Keikal, a senior RSF commander in Gezira state, returned to the army along with many of his troops.
Keikal’s decision to return to the Sudanese army, where he was serving before the start of the war, was described as a propaganda victory, where the remaining RSF fighters were asked to surrender as an opportunity for amnesty.
After Keikal’s defection, militants launched about 68 retaliatory attacks on towns and villages in Gezira state between October 20 and November 4, according to figures from the war monitoring group ACLED.
The BBC’s investigative department carried out an investigation into one of the attacks, using witnesses, satellite images, video and photographs to establish the origins of what happened.
How the massacre was done in al-Seriha
Mohammad Ismail was leaving for the morning prayer at a mosque on October 25, when he heard fighters approaching al-Sariha, a town with a population of 15,000, 90 kilometers from the country’s capital, Khartoum.
He told the BBC that he immediately ran home to protect his family after the conflict broke out.
Gunmen attacked the mosque, he said, opening fire “at everything that moved.”
Several people were shot when they tried to escape, he said. Some of them were shot nearby in a field surrounding the city. Many of his brothers were among those killed.
Who committed the murder?
The BBC’s investigative department has obtained several videos taken by the fighters themselves, who are proud of what they have done, calling on Keikal, the former commander of the RSF, who saw with his own eyes what they did to the people of his region.
In another video, some RSF fighters are seen celebrating the attack and the killing of people.
We confirmed that this video was taken in al-Sariha by comparing the buildings and other objects in the video to satellite images of the town.
In one of the videos, a soldier shows his watch to the camera, which shows the date October 25 – clearly and loudly – the day of the massacre in al-Sariha.
Mr Ismail also told the BBC that when they entered the town, he recognized some of the fighters who attacked as residents of the town who had joined the RSF.
He also saw two commanders who are known to be leaders of the RSF in the area.
The BBC’s research department uploaded some photos of the RSF members to an app to try to identify them, but it didn’t work.
The militants indicated to the townspeople that they carried out the killing as a response to Keikal’s defection.
In another video, one of the fighters said in Arabic: “Keikal… at least these are your people.
We tried to compare the video and the trees and buildings of the area by using the human satellite of the town of al-Seriha.
In another video of an unidentified location, which was first seen on the internet on October 26, some people wearing military uniforms with RSF logos were seen talking about the defection of Keikal, who they called a “traitor”. in Gezira state.
They mentioned al-Sariha, saying that the city will face what it is equal to.
When the BBC’s investigative department contacted the RSF for a response, they denied that those seen in the video were their forces. “You can get the RSF uniform and wear it… and commit crimes against civilians to defame the RSF forces,” the group’s spokesperson said.
The BBC has seen three videos taken by the fighters themselves and the RSF logo can be seen on their uniforms.
An HRW report on the attacks on al-Sehira and other towns in the Gezira state since the fall of Keikal on the day of October stated that the attacks were carried out by the RSF forces.
On October 29, the United Nations issued a statement condemning al-Seriha and other towns in Gezira, declaring the RSF as the perpetrators of the attacks.
How many civilians were killed?
The BBC has obtained four separate videos after the attack in al-Seriha.
They are causing trouble by showing the dead bodies of people lying in the courtyard of a mosque covered with veils.
These videos were first seen on October 26. And the BBC’s investigation confirmed that the bodies were laid out in the mosque compound.
Original image, Social media
The BBC’s investigative department analyzed the video footage, where 82 bodies were counted lying on the bed or on the floor.
The United Nations said 124 people died in the al-Seriha attack.
A civil society group in Gezira said the death toll could exceed 140 people.
Another thing that the BBC investigation found was the dead man’s grave in the town’s cemetery.
Mr Ismail said that a tomb has been built in the cemetery. And the BBC’s satellite survey of the cemetery shows that there is no tombstone in the photos taken in May.
Survivors were kidnapped for ransom
After they finished firing and the soldiers took control, the survivors were surrounded and arrested.
The BBC’s investigative department has seen these videos of the arrests and kidnappings.
In one of them, at least 60 people were seen sitting or standing on the wall of a building being detained by some gunmen.
Original image, Social media
Some of those who were arrested were old people, some of them were wearing white clothes and blood.
In the video, some of the gunmen are heard calling the people for dogs and animal cries.
The BBC’s investigative department has confirmed that the video footage was taken in the north-west of the city as confirmed by satellite images.
Original image, Social media
There are a number of people whose hands have been listed in the past.
As they were walking in front of the fighters, one of the fighters seen in the first video was chasing them.
“We have conquered al-Seriha or,” as one of the gunners asked one of the captors.
Elmubir Mahmoud, the secretary general of the Gezira council, told the BBC that the militants took 150 people with them after leaving the town. He said at least 11 of them – including a three-year-old girl – were killed. The BBC has not confirmed this.
But what resident Mohammad Ismail told us shows that those who survived were forced to pay ransom to release their brothers.
He said the fighters demanded a payment between 100 dollars and 1,000 dollars.
Many countries around the world have praised the work of the RSF and the Sudanese military in Gezira.
In a statement, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, urged countries to stop providing weapons to the warring parties in Sudan. She said that the supply of weapons increases the dirtiness of the war.
“The people of Sudan endured a disaster,” she said. “They deserve protection and dignity and justice. They deserve to live.”
