New satellite imagery has revealed harrowing evidence of mass killings in El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, following its capture by Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after an 18-month siege.

The images, analyzed by Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab and reported by The Telegraph, show pools of blood and piles of human bodies visible from space — evidence researchers describe as consistent with “ethnic cleansing and war crimes” committed against civilians.

High-resolution photos captured by Airbus DS show human-sized bodies lying on the ground near RSF vehicles in El-Fasher’s Al-Daraja district. The surrounding sand is stained deep red, suggesting extensive bloodshed. Analysts said the pools of blood are so large they can be clearly seen from orbit.

The findings support reports that more than 2,000 civilians; mostly women, children, and the elderly, were executed after RSF fighters overran the city. Witnesses and local defense groups said the forces carried out house-to-house killings and summary executions of people trying to flee.

According to the Yale lab, the satellite data shows “clusters of human-sized objects and blood-soaked soil,” as well as bodies near RSF vehicles and sand berms used as fortifications. Newly disturbed ground and burnt structures were also detected.

Nathaniel Raymond, Director of the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, told Agence France-Presse that the scale of violence in Darfur “exceeds anything I have seen so far.” He warned that RSF’s access to aerial reconnaissance “makes hiding impossible — they can see everything from the sky.”

The lab’s report concluded that El-Fasher is undergoing “a deliberate and systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing against Sudanese ethnic groups.” It also documented evidence of forced displacement and mass flight southward, consistent with videos showing civilians being executed as they tried to escape.

Local defense groups that had fought alongside the Sudanese army said RSF fighters executed more than 2,000 unarmed people on October 26 and 27. Verified footage reportedly shows a child soldier executing a man at point-blank range, and another video shows captives being released only to be shot moments later.

The Humanitarian Research Lab called for urgent international action, saying “the world must act immediately to exert maximum pressure on the RSF and its backers to halt the killings.”

Before its fall, El-Fasher had served as the Sudanese army’s last major stronghold in Darfur, sheltering more than 250,000 civilians during the siege. Following its capture, satellite images revealed what researchers called “a massacre visible from orbit” with bodies piled near RSF encampments and scattered along main roads.

Images also show large-scale movements of people fleeing south toward safer areas. The discovery of mass graves and mounting satellite evidence has drawn condemnation from the United Nations, regional governments, and human rights groups.

The Yale report warned that the violence in El-Fasher reflects “deliberate mass killings and systematic ethnic targeting,” and that without swift international intervention, the civilian death toll “could increase dramatically.”

As the Sudanese army retreats from Darfur, El-Fasher now stands as a grim symbol of the conflict — a city turned into an open graveyard, its bloodstained sands visible even from space.

International observers fear that unless the world intervenes, the atrocities witnessed from orbit will only mark the beginning of a deeper humanitarian catastrophe on the ground.