A Sudanese doctor recounts his harrowing escape from a Darfur city under rebel bombardment

CAIRO (AP) — Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim dashed from gathering to building, hopeless for places to hide. He ran done streets littered with bodies. Around him, the superior of Sudan’s North Darfur state laic enveloped successful fume and fire.

Explosions, shelling and gunfire thundered from each direction.

After 18 months of battling, paramilitary fighters had overrun el-Fasher, the Sudanese army’s lone remaining stronghold successful the Darfur region. Ibrahim, who fled the city’s past functioning infirmary with a colleague, said helium feared helium would not unrecorded to spot the prima spell down.

“All astir we saw radical moving and falling to the crushed successful beforehand of us,” the 28-year-old doc told The Associated Press, recounting the battle that began Oct. 26 and lasted 3 days. “We moved from location to house, from partition to partition nether non-stop bombardment. Bullets were flying from each directions.”

Three months later, the brutality inflicted by the militant Rapid Support Forces is lone present becoming clear. United Nations officials accidental thousands of civilians were killed but person nary precise decease toll. They accidental lone 40% of the city’s 260,000 residents managed to fly the onslaught alive, thousands of whom were wounded. The destiny of the remainder remains unknown.

The violence, including wide killings, turned el-Fasher into a “massive transgression scene,” U.N. officials and autarkic observers said. When a humanitarian squad yet gained entree successful precocious December, they recovered the metropolis mostly deserted, with fewer signs of life. A Doctors Without Borders squad that visited this period described it arsenic a “ghost town” mostly emptied of the radical who erstwhile lived there.

Nazhat Shameem Khan, lawman authoritative of the International Criminal Court, said warfare crimes and crimes against humanity were committed successful el-Fasher “as a culmination of the city’s siege by the Rapid Support Forces.”

“The representation that’s emerging is appalling,” she told the U.N. Security Council past week, adding that “organized, wide wide criminality” has been utilized “to asseverate control.”

With el-Fasher chopped off, details of the onslaught stay scarce. Speaking with the AP from the municipality of Tawila, astir 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the defeated capital, Ibrahim provided a rare, elaborate first-person account.

As fighters swarmed in, they opened occurrence connected civilians scrambling implicit walls and hiding successful trenches successful a vain effort to escape, portion mowing down others with vehicles, Ibrahim said. Seeing truthful galore killed felt similar helium was moving toward his ain death.

“It was a despicable feeling,” helium said. “How tin el-Fasher fall? Is it over? I saw radical moving successful terror. … It was similar judgement day.”

The Rapid Support Forces didn’t respond to telephone calls and emails from the AP with elaborate questions astir the brutal onslaught and Ibrahim's account. RSF commandant Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo acknowledged abuses by his fighters but disputed the standard of atrocities.

Prelude to the assault

When the subject toppled Sudan’s civilian-led authorities successful a 2021 coup, it counted the Rapid Support Forces — descended from the country’s notorious Janjaweed militias — arsenic its ally.

But the service and militants rapidly became rivals. By precocious October, they'd fought fiercely for implicit 2 years successful Darfur, already infamous for genocide and different atrocities successful the aboriginal 2000s.

The army's past stronghold was strategically-located el-Fasher. But the RSF, accused by the Biden medication of carrying retired genocide successful the ongoing war, had the metropolis surrounded. As paramilitary forces tightened the noose, residents pressed into a tiny country connected the city's occidental side.

Civilians were forced to devour carnal fodder arsenic nutrient gave out, Ibrahim said. His household fled aft their location was shelled successful April, wounding his mother. But with fewer wellness workers left, Ibrahim stayed, moving astatine the Saudi Maternity Hospital arsenic the RSF closed in.

The Saudi-financed infirmary was el-Fasher's past functioning aesculapian center. But months of RSF shelling and drone strikes had driven distant astir of its staff, leaving conscionable 11 doctors.

“We worked endless shifts and supplies dwindled to nothing,” Ibrahim said.

He was treating patients astir 5 a.m. connected Oct. 26 erstwhile shelling intensified. Civilians sheltering adjacent the infirmary began fleeing toward a adjacent subject base.

“People were moving successful each direction,” helium said. “It was evident that the metropolis was falling."

Searching for a mode out

Around 7 a.m., helium and different doc decided to flee, mounting retired connected ft for the service basal astir 1.5 kilometers (a mile) away. An hr later, RSF fighters attacked the hospital, sidesplitting a caregiver and wounding 3 others. Two days later, the militants stormed the installation again, sidesplitting astatine slightest 460 radical and abducting six wellness workers, according to the World Health Organization.

Ibrahim and his workfellow darted from location to house, passing 4 corpses and galore wounded civilians, earlier reaching a dormitory astatine the University of el-Fasher. Thirty minutes later, RSF artillery began pounding the area.

Separated from his colleague, Ibrahim sprinted crossed an unfastened country wherever “anything could hap to you — a drone strike, a conveyance ramming implicit you, oregon RSF chasing you,” helium said.

He moved betwixt buildings to different dormitory. Hiding wrong an bare h2o tank, helium heard the screams of radical chased by gunmen amid 2 hours of nonstop shelling.

When the bombardment slowed, helium headed to the university’s aesculapian school, jumping from extortion to extortion to debar being seen. He recovered a breached partition down the school’s morgue and took screen for astir an hour. By past it was noon and RSF fighters rampaged crossed el-Fasher.

Ibrahim ran past 25 to 30 much dormant earlier yet reaching the service basal astir 4 p.m. and reuniting with his coworker.

Thousands, mostly women, children oregon older people, were taking refuge there. Many sheltered successful trenches; scores were injured and bleeding. Ibrahim utilized covering scraps to formal wounds, stabilizing 1 man's breached wrist with a sling made from a shirt.

The roadworthy out

Around 8 p.m., Ibrahim and astir 200 others, mostly women and children, near the basal for Tawila, a municipality swelled by the influx of tens of thousands fleeing the fighting. Guides led the mode nether a agleam moon.

When they heard trucks, oregon spotted fighters connected camels successful the distance, they dropped to the ground. When threats passed they continued on.

Eventually the radical reached a trench the militants built connected the outskirts of el-Fasher to tighten the blockade. They helped each different standard the 3-meter-high (10-foot-high) trench. But erstwhile the radical reached a 2nd and past a 3rd trench, immoderate struggled and turned back. Their destiny remains unknown.

At the past trench, those up of Ibrahim came nether occurrence arsenic they climbed out. Ibrahim and his workfellow laic level successful the trench until the shooting subsided.

Finally, astir 1 a.m., they ventured into the darkness. Five from the radical laic dead, with galore others wounded.

‘You’re doctors. You person money.’

The survivors walked for hours toward Tawila. Around noon connected Oct. 27, they were stopped by RSF fighters connected motorcycles and trucks mounted with weapons.

Encircling the group, the militants fatally changeable 2 men and took the doctors and others captive. The fighters separated Ibrahim, his workfellow and 3 others, chained them to motorcycles and forced them to sprint behind.

At an RSF-controlled village, fighters chained the prisoners to trees and interrogated them. At archetypal Ibrahim and his person told them they were mean civilians.

“I didn’t privation to archer them I was a doctor, due to the fact that they exploited doctors," helium said. "But my person admitted helium was a doctor, truthful I had to.”

That evening the fighters met with a commander, Brig. Gen. Al-Fateh Abdulla Idris, who has been identified successful videos executing unarmed captives.

Ibrahim and his workfellow were brought retired successful chains past taken backmost to the village, wherever the fighters demanded ransom for their release.

“They said, ‘You are doctors. You person money. The organizations springiness you money, a batch of money,’” helium said.

The fighters handed them a cellphone to telephone their families for ransom. At first, the gunmen demanded $20,000 each. Ibrahim was truthful stunned by the magnitude that helium laughed, and the fighters bushed him with their rifles.

“My full household don’t person that,” helium told them.

After hours of abuse, the militants asked Ibrahim however overmuch helium could pay. When helium offered $500, they "started beating maine again,” helium said. “They said we volition beryllium killed.”

The fighters turned to Ibrahim’s friend, repeating the demands and beatings.

Ibrahim said his workfellow yet agreed to $8,000 each — an tremendous sum successful a state wherever the mean monthly wage is $30 to $50.

“I astir deed him. … I didn’t spot them to fto america go,” Ibrahim said.

With small choice, Ibrahim called his family. After they transferred the money, the fighters separated the doctors, keeping them blindfolded. Eventually, they were moved to vehicles filled with fighters who told them they were being taken to Tawila.

Instead, they were dropped disconnected successful an RSF-controlled area, prompting fears they would beryllium recaptured. When they spotted fighters, the doctors hid successful the brush. They emerged an hr later, spotted tracks of horse-drawn carts and began pursuing them.

Alive but haunted

Three hours later, they spotted the emblem of the Sudan Liberation Army-Abdul Wahid, a rebel radical not progressive successful warring betwixt the RSF and authorities troops.

The rebels allowed them entry. They were met by a Sudanese-American Physicians Association team, which provides attraction for those fleeing el-Fasher, past continued on.

When they yet reached Tawila, Ibrahim was reunited with survivors, including different Saudi infirmary physician. The antheral said helium had seen video of the doctors' seizure connected Facebook and was definite they had been killed.

“He embraced maine and we some wept,” Ibrahim said. “He didn’t ideate I was inactive alive. It was a miracle.”

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AP writers Sarah El Deeb successful Beirut and Adam Geller successful New York contributed to this report.

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