Satellite images show bad tins wey happen for Sudan Al Fasher city

Satellite images from Sudan don help expose di bad tins wey paramilitary group RSF do wen dem take over di last army stronghold for western Darfur area.

For one tok with AFP, Nathaniel Raymond from Yale University Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) yarn say na di aerial images be di only way dem fit monitor di wahala wey dey happen for ground for di city of Al Fasher, di capital of North Darfur.

On October 26, di paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), wey don dey fight Sudan army for more than two years, claim say dem don control di city wey dem don besiege for almost 18 months.

Close-up satellite images show evidence of door-to-door killings, mass graves, red patches and bodies wey dey visible for one earthen berm – all dis findings match wetin eyewitnesses talk.

Tragic killing of at least 460 people: WHO

On October 28, HRL release footage from Al Fasher maternity hospital wey show "piles of white objects" wey no dey there before and dem measure between "1.1 to 1.9 metres" – di size fit match human bodies wey dey lie down or bend.

Dem also talk say di ground nearby get "reddish earth discolourations" wey fit be blood.

Di next day, di World Health Organization announce say di "tragic killing of more than 460 patients and medical staff" happen for di hospital.

Di images wey HRL release, wey don dey monitor di situation for Al Fasher since di siege start, spark public outrage, according to Raymond.

Satellite technology

Since di siege start, HRL don dey alert di United Nations and di United States about wetin dey happen for ground, and di reports don become reference point to track di territorial movements for di area.

Population movements, attacks, drone strikes and mass killings don dey closely monitor for di city, wey access still dey blocked despite di calls to open humanitarian corridors.

Satellite imagery don become important tool for NGOs and journalists for areas wey access dey hard or no dey possible – like Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan.

Plenty companies wey specialise for satellite imaging dey scan di globe daily, except weather condition block dem. Depending on di sensors wey dey onboard, satellites fit clearly see buildings, vehicles and even crowds.

'Killings at highest volume'

HRL dey cross-check di images with other materials like online videos, social media and local news reports, according to Yale published methodology.

Raymond yarn say after Al Fasher fall, di paramilitaries "start to post videos of demself dey kill people for di highest volume dem ever do before," wey give more material for analysis.

Di team cross-check di videos with di small information wey dey available to identify, date and locate di acts of violence using satellite imagery.

Raymond talk say di lab mission na to raise alarm about di atrocities and gather evidence to make sure say di people wey commit di war crimes no go escape justice.

International outcry

Di images from Al Fasher don cause international outcry.

Di prosecutor office for di International Criminal Court (ICC) talk on Monday say di atrocities wey happen for di area fit amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Di public outrage wey follow di images make di paramilitaries reduce di amount of videos dem dey post from di ground, according to HRL.

For di videos wey dem still dey share, "very few, if any, get metadata inside," Raymond talk, and di researchers dey count di bodies by demself.

'Transition from killing phase to disposal'

Raymond talk say dem no dey count individual remains but dey tag di piles of bodies and dey measure dem as dem dey increase.

E still add say di researchers work no reduce even as di videos don reduce. Instead, dem dey focus now on di hard task of tracing "di perpetrator transition from killing phase to disposal."