Satellite images show how Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are flouting international law by intentionally targeting civilians in the besieged city of el-Fasher - actions that should be considered war crimes, says a research team from Yale University.
We're looking at the growth of an entire new burial area with over 60 new mounds that have been built in just a two-week period, Caitlin Howarth from the university's Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) told the BBC.
People are now completely trapped with no hope of escape as the RSF recently completed a 57km (35-mile) earthen wall around the city.
Desperate residents in the army's last stronghold in Darfur say food has run out.
There is nothing left to eat today - all food supplies have run out, said the resistance committee for el-Fasher, comprised of local citizens and activists. They noted that even alternatives for survival have vanished, including ambaz, a residue of peanuts normally fed to animals.
Sudan plunged into a civil war in April 2023 after a vicious power struggle erupted between the military and the RSF. Since then, RSF fighters have been accused of targeting non-Arab ethnic groups, worsening the humanitarian crisis.
In addition to shortages of food, attacks on civilian structures and shelters by RSF forces have been increasing. Yale HRL researchers reported at least 174 fatalities and 123 injuries due to RSF bombardments on shelters, mosques, markets, and medical facilities.
Despite the continuous pleas for international aid and intervention from local committees, civilians find themselves abandoned, with none of their calls resulting in action.
The HRL stresses the urgent need for the cessation of hostilities and access for humanitarian aid without the threat of violence for those within el-Fasher.
