Footage showing fighters from Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) glorifying the burning of homes and torturing prisoners could play a pivotal role in future war crimes prosecutions, international observers have said after such videos were widely circulated on social media.

The videos have been viewed by The Guardian and verified by the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), and are being considered as evidence of war crimes by international courts, including the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The RSF has been accused of conducting ethnic cleansing in Sudan as part of its efforts to seize control of the country. The western region of Darfur, where the RSF has gained ground, has been particularly impacted, with civilians, mainly from the Masalit ethnic group, suffering severe violence.

In El Geneina, Darfur's capital, more than 10,000 people, predominantly from the Masalit community, were killed during heavy fighting in 2023. A UN investigation later unearthed a mass grave of Masalit civilians, allegedly killed by RSF fighters.

Fulfilling the ICC's demands

The ICC has called for submissions of visual and audio evidence from Darfur, and the disturbing footage shared by RSF fighters could become a crucial component of their investigation.

One video from June 2023 shows an RSF fighter standing in front of the sultan of Masalit's house, declaring, "There are no more Masalit… Arabs only," while another captures a fighter walking through the streets of a seized city, showing corpses and referring to the deceased as roadblocks.

Other footage from November 2023, filmed in the town of Ardamata near El Geneina, reveals men in RSF uniforms rounding up civilians while shouting ethnic slurs. In one clip, a uniformed fighter films himself as others whip a detainee and strike him with a rifle.

This graphic content, which was posted by RSF fighters, offers rare insight into the atrocities occurring in Darfur, where it has been highly unsafe for journalists and activists alike to report on the ongoing crimes.

Self-condemnation

Experts say this footage could be a major piece of evidence for war crimes prosecutors. "It's someone condemning themselves," said Alexa Koenig, co-creator of the Berkeley Protocol for social media use in war crime investigations.

While not as binding as a formal guilty plea, this footage provides investigators with critical documentation of the RSF's actions.

Thousands of videos have been collected and verified to support future accountability efforts, CIR's Sudan Witness project's Anouk Theunissen said. 

Observers note that RSF fighters likely feel emboldened to film and share their acts, sensing little fear of immediate consequences. 

Since April of last year, the ongoing war between Sudan's army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has claimed tens of thousands of lives and sparked one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises.

On Friday, independent UN experts reported uncovering "harrowing" violations committed by both sides, suggesting that these acts "may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity." They urged the immediate deployment of an independent force with the mandate to safeguard civilians.

In response, Sudan’s Foreign Ministry, aligned with the army under General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, issued a statement late Saturday, saying that "the Sudanese government rejects in their entirety the recommendations of the UN mission."

The ministry criticized the UN Human Rights Council, which had established the fact-finding mission last year, labeling it "a political and illegal body" and dismissing the panel’s recommendations as "a flagrant violation of its mandate."

The UN experts highlighted that eight million civilians have been displaced internally, while two million others have fled to neighboring countries. Additionally, more than 25 million people—over half of Sudan's population—are now facing severe food shortages.