Satellite Images Evidence RSF’ Massacre in Al-Sariha

Sudanhorizon – Summary and Comment by Mohamed Osman Adam

The BBC applied a unique scientific method to prove the crimes of the rebel Rapid Support Militia against civilians in the village of Al-Sariha in Gezira, which are massacres that affected dozens of civilians and families, and the BBC shuttered the lies of the militia that wanted to disavow the crimes and deny the killing and humiliation inflicted upon civilians.

The BBC did not rely on the various reports it received from its correspondents , the eyewitnesses, government statements and denial statement from the Rapid Support Militia, nor on the videotapes provided by the perpetrators of the crime themselves, nor on the accounts of the victims’ families, despite their truthfulness and abundance. Rather, it resorted to satellites, thermal imaging, comparison of buildings, soil samples and colors, graveyard dirt, and facial identification for those attackers. Then it compared this data to reach a decisive conclusion, that the Rapid Support Militia committed crimes and massacres in the village of Al-Sariha in Gezira State.

The context of the Assaults

Then the BBC report put these heinous acts in their context, stating that the killing occurred when the former commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Abu Aqla Kikil, left the rebellion and returned to the Sudanese army and regretted his recent work within the ranks of the Rapid Support Militia, which had found in him a strong supporter in the region. Therefore, his return to the army ranks was slap on the face, and the militia couldn’t think of a better way to express its anger other than taking revenge on the defenseless civilians of his family, his friends, and his social incubators.

Verification Summary

The BBC report on the massacre indicated that an analysis was conducted by the BBC – Verify program on “video clips showing fighters bragging about a massacre and then mocking the survivors later,” and the program concluded that the authors of these crimes apparently belong to the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Former RSF commander Abu Aqla Keikal switched his loyalty to the Sudanese army

Analysis by BBC Verify of videos showing fighters boasting of a massacre and later mocking survivors has identified those responsible as apparently belonging to Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The BBC report then reviewed the basic information and data and stated that “at least 80 people died in the October attack on al-Seriha in Gezira state, with the UN reporting that the death toll could be as high as 124.

“An eyewitness told BBC Verify he saw unarmed civilians gunned down by fighters at close range as they tried to flee.”

The BBC then, placing the killing within its context, explained that the “ massacre appears to have been prompted by the defection of a senior RSF commander in Gezira state to the country’s armed forces.

It added that in a statement to the BBC, an RSF spokesman denied its fighters were involved in the killings adding that “the Rapid Support Forces work to protect civilians and promote security and peace, and not to target them.”

To set the ground the BBC report added that shortly after Keikal’s defection, fighters launched a series of at least 69 reprisal attacks on towns and villages in Gezira state between 20 October and 4 November, according data recorded by the war monitoring organisation Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED).

BBC-Verify

The BBC then applied all the tools that we have just mentioned, in its “BBC Verify” to reach a conclusion which is sought to be a logical conclusion whether in line or against the hypothesis set when initiating the investigation

It investigated one of these attacks in detail, using eye-witness testimony, satellite imagery, video footage and photographs, to understand what happened.

How a Massacre Unfolded in Al-Seriha

Mohammad Ismail was attending dawn prayers at a local mosque on 25 October when he heard the fighters approaching the outskirts of al-Seriha, a town of around 15,000 people, 90km (60 miles) south of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum.

He told the BBC that he ran home to protect his family as the violence erupted all around. Gunmen had climbed up onto a mosque, he said, and were shooting “at whatever moved” below. Many people were shot while trying to escape, he said. Others were gunned down at close range in the fields surrounding the town. Many of his family members were among the dead.

The report commented on what the elements were sought for identifying the perpetrators, in the videos and photos obtains, troops with RSF insignia are seen celebrating their attack on the town and of killing locals. The circular insignia seen on their right shoulders, also visible in some other clips, has a black outline, a curved representation of the Sudanese flag and a round logo above this – the symbol used by the RSF.

“We have confirmed that this video was filmed in al-Seriha by comparing buildings and other elements within the videos with satellite imagery of the town.” It stressed.

In one of the videos, a fighter displays his wristwatch to the camera, showing the date as 25 October – and repeating it out loud – the date of the massacre in al-Seriha, thus confirming what Mr Ismail also told the BBC that when they came to the town, he recognised some of the fighters involved in the attack as former residents who had signed up to fight with the RSF.

Mr Ismail had told us that a mass grave had been dug in the graveyard. In satellite photos captured after the attack, these mounds can be seen in a previously unused section of the cemetery. They are not present in satellite images taken in May of the same year. Before and after satellite images showing new mounds of earth at the cemetery in al-Seriha. Large, freshly-dug earth mounds visible in the local cemetery
Nathaniel Raymond, Executive Director at the Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab told the BBC that in a separate image taken on 30 October, the graves appear to have been recently dug given the distinct shape of the mounds and the colour of the surrounding earth. In the graphic above, we’ve shown a satellite image from 6 December which more clearly shows the cemetery.

“These two indicators tell us that the mounds had not been there for likely more than a few days because the edges of the mounds over time will smoothen and become more blurry because of wind and dust,” he said. It is to be noted that this expert, Nathaniel Raymond, hails from the same laboratory that had shown the presence of artillery-type howitzers that have found in possession of the RSF militias and which were used to shell the IDP camps in Zamzam-note from editor)

The report added that while the BBC cannot verify how many people may be buried in the new section of the cemetery, the size of the earth mounds measured against the nearby white building suggests many bodies could have been buried there.
Survivors taken for ransom

Once the initial shooting was over and the troops had taken control of the town, the surviving men were rounded up and detained. And BBC Verify has obtained videos of these detentions and abductions.

In one, at least 60 people can be seen sitting or standing against a wall being watched by the armed fighters.
Social media Survivors are seen sitting against a wall while a guard films them.

Social media

The report then commented that it appeared that some of the captives appear to be elderly, and many are wearing what seem to be bloodstained white robes.

At one point in the video, the fighters taunt their captives, calling them dogs and making animal noises( these are derogatory, pejorative and demeaning acts by Sudanese standards).

“Say baa, you dogs, say baa, say baa. You dare again to take up arms, don’t mess with the Rapid Support Forces.”

BBC Verify has confirmed this was filmed at the north-western part of the town by matching distinctive features shown on satellite maps. In particular, there is a corrugated iron structure visible which can also be seen on satellite imagery captured on 30 October.

 

Others are seen walking in a line with their arms raised. Footage later shows the fighters mocking their captives, with residents forced to make animal noises while the fighters laugh and look on.

Captives walk past a guard, who films them. Many appear to be old and some are wearing white robes.

Another group of men were later marched past the fighters with their hands behind their backs.

As the group file past, one fighter recognisable from earlier clips again mocks the men.

“Did we defeat al-Seriha,” the fighter asks the captives, before repeatedly saying: “Did we do well?”

Elmubir Mahmoud, secretary-general of the Gezira Congress, told the BBC the fighters took 150 hostages away with them after they left the town. He said that at least 11 captives – including a three-year-old girl – have since been killed. BBC Verify cannot confirm this.

But testimony given to us by town resident Mohammad Ismail suggests that survivors were forced to pay ransoms for the release of their family members. He said their captors had demanded between US$100 and US$1,000.

In a statement, the US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield urged countries to cease providing arms to both sides of the war. She said supplies were prolonging the conflict.

“The people of Sudan have endured hell,” she said. “They deserve safety, dignity, and justice. They deserve to live.”