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With dozens of bodies scattered around him, against a backdrop of burning vehicles, a sole survivor begged for his life. A Sudanese paramilitary commander known as Abu Lulu leaned over the man, listening to his desperate pleas. But he had little time for them. Standing up, Abu Lulu ignored the man’s imprecations, casually shot him dead, and kept walking. The execution, depicted in a video circulating online and verified by The New York Times, was one of numerous scenes of violence to emerge from the besieged Sudanese city of El Fasher since it was captured by paramilitaries last weekend. Videos and witness accounts show trenches filled with bodies, and fighters with the paramilitary force — the Rapid Support Forces, or R.S.F. — hunting down civilians as they flee. The images of these and other atrocities have set off global outrage and stoked fears that the region of Darfur is plunging, once again, into a cycle of genocidal violence of the kind that made the Sudanese region a focus of global politics two decades ago. At the United Nations and in Western capitals, officials issued statements on Thursday condemning the R.S.F., which has been battling Sudan’s military since the country plunged into a ruinous civil war over two years ago, and recently declared its own parallel government. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
