El-fasher: A Sudanese paramilitary commander has brazenly carried out the execution of more than 2,000 civilians in the western city of El-Fasher, emerging as the central figure in the atrocities perpetrated by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the Darfur region.
According to Anadolu Agency, the RSF took control of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, last week amid reports of massacres against civilians trapped in the city. This takeover is part of an ongoing deadly conflict between the RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), and the Sudanese army since April 2023.
Video footage has captured one of the RSF commanders, known as Abu Lulu, executing people at point-blank range in the city, earning him the nickname 'Butcher of El-Fasher'. Abu Lulu, whose real name is Al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, is a prominent RSF commander and closely associated with the Dagalo family, members of the Mahariya Rizeigat tribe.
Having joined the RSF in 2013 after receiving military training, Idris quickly rose within the ranks due to his family ties to RSF leader Hemedti. He joined the special forces and was deployed to Yemen multiple times. Upon returning from Yemen, he was transferred to the intelligence office, further solidifying his position within the paramilitary group.
As the conflict intensified between the RSF and the Sudanese army, Abu Lulu became one of Abdelrheem Dagalo's guards. Abdelrheem, a brother of Hemedti, served as the RSF's deputy leader and faced international sanctions in September 2023 for alleged human rights abuses and war crimes during the war.
Abu Lulu participated in several battles in Khartoum against Sudanese army forces and gained notoriety in videos depicting the killing of hostages and overseeing civilian field executions. In the latest atrocities in El-Fasher, he admitted to killing thousands and documenting mass civilian killings in a live stream.
During a TikTok live stream, Abu Lulu boasted, "I wanted to kill 2,000, but I'm sure the number exceeded 2,000, but I got confused about the calculation." He further declared, "I lost track of it, but I will do it again starting from zero," as fellow RSF militants laughed alongside him. His statements prompted global outrage, leading to the banning of his TikTok account for community guideline violations.
RSF leader Hemedti acknowledged last week that "violations" had occurred in El-Fasher by his forces, stating that investigation committees had been formed. The rebel group also claimed on its official Telegram channel that Abu Lulu and others involved in the human rights violations in El-Fasher were arrested by the RSF, despite previous denials of any connection to him.