BBC Verify’s analysis of videos showing fighters bragging about the massacre and mocking survivors later identified those involved as members of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The BBC has confirmed that at least 80 people died in the October attack on al-Seriha in Gezira province, while the UN reported that the death toll could reach 124. An eyewitness told BBC Verify that he saw unarmed people being shot. soldiers nearby as they try to escape.
The massacre appears to have been caused by the defection of an RSF officer in the Gezira region to the local army.
In a statement sent to the BBC, a spokesman for the RSF denied that its fighters were involved in the killings, adding that “Rapid Support Forces work to protect civilians and promote security and peace, not direct them.”
The brutal conflict, a 20-month power struggle pitting Sudan’s military authorities against former RSF allies, has been condemned by human rights groups for widespread atrocities by both sides.
Warning: This story contains detailed descriptions of executions and photos of corpses, which may distress some readers.
How rebellion led to revenge attacks
On October 20, the Sudanese military announced that Abu Aqla Keikal, the RSF’s top commander in Gezira province, had defected to them along with a large number of his forces.
Keikal’s decision to return to the Sudanese army, where he had served before the war, was hailed as a major propaganda success, and other RSF soldiers were urged to do the same as part of a wider amnesty offer.
Shortly after Keikal’s defection, fighters launched at least 69 reprisal attacks on towns and villages in the Gezira region between 20 October and 4 November, according to data recorded by the war monitoring organization Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED).
BBC Verify investigated some of these attacks in detail, using eyewitness accounts, satellite images, video footage and photographs, to understand what happened.
How the massacre in al-Seriha happened
Mohammad Ismail was attending dawn prayer at a mosque on October 25 when he heard soldiers approaching the outskirts of al-Seriha, a town of about 15,000 people, 90 kilometers south of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum.
He told the BBC he ran home to protect his family as violence erupted everywhere.
Gunmen climbed into the mosque, he said, and were shooting at “anything that moved” below.
Many people were shot trying to escape, he said. Others were shot at close range in the fields surrounding the city. Most of his family members were among the dead.
Identifying the perpetrators
BBC Verify has obtained a series of videos of the fighters themselves, bragging about their exploits and calling on Keikal, a former RSF commander, to see for himself what they were doing to the people in his area.
In another, soldiers wearing RSF symbols can be seen celebrating their attack on a town and killing locals. The circular symbol seen on their right shoulders, and seen in other clips, has a black outline, a curved representation of the Sudanese flag and a circular logo above this – the symbol used by the RSF.
We confirmed that this video was recorded in al-Seriha by comparing buildings and other features within the videos and satellite images of the city.
In one of the videos, a fighter shows his wristwatch to the camera, showing the date October 25 – and repeating it aloud – the day of the massacre in al-Seriha.
Mr Ismail also told the BBC that when they arrived in the city, he saw some of the boxers involved in the attack as former civilians who had signed up to fight with the RSF.
He also said he saw two commanders known to be top leaders of the RSF in the area. BBC Verify ran images of other RSF fighters using facial recognition software in an attempt to identify individuals, but this search returned no matches.
The soldiers left the locals in no doubt that the massacre was carried out because of Keikal’s rebellion.
In one video a security guard says in Arabic: “Keikal … look at these are your people.”
We were able to match landmarks in this video such as trees and the shape of nearby buildings seen in videos and satellite images of al-Seriha.
In another video – which was not posted on the site but first appeared online on October 26 – men wearing military fatigues with the RSF logo talk about Keikal’s rebellion and refer to “traitors” in the Gezira region. They specifically mentioned al-Seriha, adding that the city will get what it deserves.
At several points in the video, they refer to themselves using the Arabic word “ashawis” which means “the brave”, a term used by RSF fighters to describe themselves.
When BBC Verify contacted RSF for comment, it denied that those seen in the clips were its soldiers. “You can easily get a Rapid Support Forces uniform and wear it… and commit crimes against people, to criminalize the Rapid Support Forces,” said a spokesman for the group.
Although it is impossible to determine this, the BBC has seen three different videos filmed by the fighters themselves, where the RSF insignia can be seen on the uniforms of those involved.
A Human Rights Watch report on the attacks on al-Sehira and other towns in Gezira since Keikal’s rebellion on October 20th, identified the RSF as criminals.
On October 29, the UN issued a statement condemning the killing of people in al-Seriha and other towns in Gezira and pointed out that the RSF was behind the attack.
How many civilians were killed?
The BBC received four separate videos after the al-Seriha attack. They are very graphic and show bodies lined up in a mosque courtyard, covered in cloth and blankets. Earlier versions of these videos appeared online on October 26.
BBC Verify discovered that the image below was taken from the mosque’s courtyard by matching key features, including the metal gate and satellite dish in the background, with an image of the mosque from Google Maps.
BBC Verify has read video and photographic evidence, listing at least 82 bodies lying on beds or on the floor.
The UN said 124 people died in the revenge killings in al-Seriha. The local civil society organization, Gezira Congress, says the number could be as high as 140.
Another piece of evidence uncovered by the BBC Verify investigation is the discovery of mounds of earth recently excavated from the city’s cemetery.
Mr. Ismail told us that the graves of many people were dug in the cemetery.
In satellite images taken after the attack, these mounds can be seen in a part of the cemetery that had never been used before. They are not in the satellite images taken in May.
Large, freshly excavated mounds of earth seen in local cemeteries [BBC]
Nathaniel Raymond, Executive Director at Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab told the BBC that in a separate photo taken on October 30, it appears that the graves were recently dug due to the different shape of the mounds and the color of the surrounding soil. In the image above, we have shown a satellite image from December 6th that shows the cemetery more clearly.
“These two indicators tell us that there have been no dunes for a few days because over time the edges will be smooth and blurred due to wind and dust,” he said.
Although the BBC cannot confirm how many people may be buried in the new part of the cemetery, the size of the mounds of earth measured against the nearby white structure suggests that many bodies were buried there.
The survivors were taken for ransom
When the shooting was over and the army had taken control of the town, the surviving men were rounded up and arrested.
BBC Verify has obtained videos of these arrests and kidnappings.
In one, at least 60 people can be seen sitting or standing against a wall watched by armed soldiers.
The survivors were rounded up by the fighters [Social media]
Some of the hostages appear to be elderly, and many are wearing white clothes stained with blood.
At one point in the video, the fighters taunted the hostages, calling them dogs and making animal noises.
“Say baa, dogs, say baa. You dare to take weapons again, don’t mess with the Rapid Forces.”
BBC Verify confirmed that this was recorded in the northwest part of the city by matching the unique features shown on satellite maps. In particular, there is a visible tile structure that can also be seen in the satellite image captured on 30 October.
Others are seen walking in line with their arms raised. Footage later shows fighters taunting their captors, civilians forced to make animal noises while fighters laugh and watch.
Later, another group of men was taken to these fighters and brought their hands.
As the group file past, one fighter seen in the previous clips again taunts the men.
“Have we conquered al-Seriha,” the fighter asks the hostages, before repeating: “Did we do well?”
Elmubir Mahmoud, secretary general of the Gezira Congress, told the BBC that the army took 150 hostages after leaving the city. He said at least 11 hostages – including a three-year-old girl – have been killed. BBC Verify cannot confirm this.
But testimony given to us by local resident Mohammad Ismail suggests that survivors were forced to pay ransoms for the release of their family members. He said their captors wanted money between $100 and $1,000.
The operations of the RSF and the Sudanese army in Gezira province have drawn international criticism, with the UN and human rights groups expressing outrage.
In a statement, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield urged countries to stop supplying weapons to both sides of the war. He said the equipment increases the conflict.
“The people of Sudan have endured hell,” he said. “They deserve safety, dignity, and justice. They deserve life.”
Additional reporting by Mohanad Hashim. Photos by Mesut Ersoz.
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