Family and community of the Masalit tribal leader, al-Farsha Mohammed Arbab, who was murdered in El Geneina, Sudan’s West Darfur State, on Saturday, have continued to express shock and disbelief, with tears strewing their faces.

The incident took place after the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took control of the garrison of the 15th SAF Division on Saturday. 

Arbab was one of West Darfur’s prominent native administration leaders and one of the oldest pillars in the Sultanate of Dar Masalit in West Darfur.

Abdel-Samie Mohammed Arbab, son of the late Mohammed Arbab, told Radio Tamazuj Wednesday that his father was killed by the Rapid Support Forces. “My father was attacked and killed at the home of our uncle Alamin in Ardamata neighborhood. I left him and my siblings there in Ardamata before the attack. The house was stormed and burned to ashes and my uncle Alamin was also killed,” he narrates.

“Two of my sisters managed to escape following the incident but I don’t know their whereabouts. Some of my brothers and family members are still missing following the attack on the house. I received information that only one of them managed to arrive in the Adre area of Chad,” he added.

When asked about the motive behind the killing of his father, Abdel-Samie said: “He was killed because he was from the Masalit. My father was a prominent tribal and native administration leader. We have confirmed that he was killed by the Rapid Support Forces.”

The son of the late Masalit leader accused the RSF of committing atrocities against members of the Masalit tribe in West Darfur. When asked to confirm if there are Masalit tribesmen detained following the capture of El Geneina by the RSF, he said: “There is information that hundreds of Masalit sons are being detained by the RSF and their whereabouts remain unknown until now. We don’t know whether they have been killed or they are still alive, we really don’t know.”

Darfur Victims Support reported on X (formerly Twitter) it had obtained graphic photos showing the RSF killing of dozens of civilians after they took control of the army’s 15th Infantry Division on Saturday.

 “The RSF committed these crimes. We call for an independent investigation by the International Criminal Court and independent human rights organizations and for the perpetrators to be held accountable,” it said.

Videos circulating on social media also showed RSF soldiers attacking civilians in Ardamata. In another cut of the video, the same men in RSF uniforms can be seen whipping the men. At one point the men appear to be forced to run down the street.

The attacks caused displacement of people from Ardamata and surrounding areas to eastern Chad.

Ethnic related killings have intensified since fighting broke out mid-April between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF, according to witnesses and aid agencies working in the region.

In September, the United Nations’ human rights body (UNJHRO) said it had received reports of at least 13 mass graves in El Geneina believed to contain civilians from the ethnic Masalit tribe who were allegedly killed in attacks by the RSF and allied Arab militias.