“Hell on earth”: satellite images document the siege of a Sudanese city

Since the start of the war the Centre for Information Resilience, an open-source research outfit, has used satellites to identify major war-related fires in Sudan (though it doesn’t capture all destruction).

Of those in the Darfur region, many were detected in and around el-Fasher.

A satellite analysis of thermal scarring (indicating burned buildings) by researchers at Yale shows how the siege unfolded. Attacks by the RSF intensified in April along the city’s eastern edges.

One resident at a displacement camp told The Economist that he saw up to 60 missiles a day in May.

By June 12th, the damage covered two square kilometres, much of it in residential areas.

The RSF’s focus on the city’s southern edges gives a hint of whom it is targeting.

One neighbourhood, Ashishat, is home to many Zaghawa; satellite imagery shows it scorched, which could be evidence of ethnically motivated targeting by the RSF. Image: © 2024, Maxar USG-Plus

The Zaghawa also live in small villages surrounding the city, which have been attacked too—such as Ammar Jadid.

In March the village looked like this.

By early June it had been destroyed by fire.

There were around a dozen hospitals and other health facilities in el-Fasher before the siege, many of which have since been damaged or destroyed.

On June 23rd the RSF targeted the only dialysis centre in North Darfur. Minni Minnawi, the region’s governor, said on social media that it “sentenced all kidney failure patients to death”. A video of the attack circulated widely online.

Only the Saudi Hospital remains operational today, but it is overrun and barely functioning.

More than 1m people may have fled el-Fasher in recent months. In Zamzam, a nearby camp containing over 400,000 displaced people, conditions are dire.

Heavy rain has caused severe flooding—an area the size of 125 football pitches is under water. That increases the risk of diseases such as cholera, and food in the camp is scarce.