Known as the ‘butcher of the century’ for his gruesome acts captured on TikTok, Sudanese warlord Abu Lulu has finally been apprehended. His arrest marks a pivotal moment in the pursuit of justice for the atrocities committed in the city of el-Fasher. Abu Lulu, a notorious figure among the paramilitary factions, is one of many implicated in the heinous acts perpetrated during the Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) seizure of the city.
The crackdown followed the circulation of shocking images depicting the execution of civilians after el-Fasher’s fall. The United Nations has sounded alarms over the potential for further atrocities, as mounting evidence reveals the extent of the violence. Among the disturbing footage shared online is a video of Abu Lulu coldly executing nine unarmed men, all while soldiers egg him on, chanting his name.
These scenes are just a fraction of the violence that has erupted in the besieged city of el-Fasher, located in western Sudan, since its capture last weekend. The aftermath of the takeover has been devastating, with over 2,000 civilians reportedly killed by RSF members in a mere 48 hours.
On Monday, a video surfaced featuring Abu Lulu, whose real identity is Brigadier General Al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, where he brazenly claimed responsibility for the massacre, boasting that he might have been behind the deaths of more than 2,000 individuals.
More than 2,000 civilians were murdered by members of the RSF in the 48-hour massacre after the city fell to them.
In a video on Monday, Abu Lulu – whose real name is Brigadier General Al-Fateh Abdullah Idris – boasted that he himself may have been responsible for slaughtering more than 2,000.
The northeast African nation was plunged into a deadly conflict in April 2023, when long simmering tensions about the future of the country between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the head of the paramilitary group erupted.
After more than 18 months of siege warfare, the RSF finally seized control of el-Fasher – the Sudanese army’s last stronghold in the vast Darfur region in the west of the country.
Pictured: The moment Abu Lulu – whose real name is Brigadier General Al-Fateh Abdullah Idris was arrested
Pictured: Abu Lulu dubbed the ‘butcher of the century’ being led to a prison sell
Pictured: Abu Lulu behind bars. In a video on Monday, he boasted that he may have been personally responsible for slaughtering more than 2,000
Satellite images have revealed the tragic aftermath of a 48-hour massacre in Sudan which saw over 2,000 civilians executed by paramilitary rebels
More than 2,000 civilians were reportedly executed in 48 hours in Sudan after the city of El-Fasher was captured by paramilitaries
As tens of thousands of people attempted to flee the besieged city, the RSF began massacring civilians in large numbers.
Abu Lulu, who has been called the ‘star’ of the recent videos depicting violence in Sudan, has a history of being accused of war crimes by human rights groups.
In August, he was documented in similar shootings across Sudan, including one alleged incident in the outskirts of el-Fasher.
The RSF released a video appearing to show Abu Lulu behind bars in what they claimed to be a North Darfur prison. It said ‘legal committees’ had begun investigations ‘in preparation for bringing them [the fighters] to justice’.
In a statement late Thursday, the RSF said it had detained several of its fighters accused of ‘violations that occurred during the liberation’ of el-Fasher. The group also claimed it was adhering to ‘the law, rules of conduct and military discipline during wartime’.
El-Fasher has been cut off from all communications since its fall, but survivors who reached the nearby town of Tawila told AFP of mass killings, children shot in front of parents and civilians beaten and robbed as they fled.
The civil war has forced more than 14 million people to flee their homes and left some families eating grass in a desperate attempt to survive as famine swept parts of the country.
Allies of the army, the Joint Forces, said that the RSF ‘committed heinous crimes against innocent civilians, where more than 2,000 unarmed citizens were executed and killed on October 26 and 27, most of them women, children and the elderly’.
This handout picture released by the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on October 30, 2025, shows RSF members reportedly detaining a fighter known as Abu Lulu (L) in El-Fasher, in war-torn Sudan’s western Darfur region
Abu Lulu, who has been called the ‘star’ of the recent videos depicting violence in Sudan, has a history of being accused of war crimes by human rights groups
A maternity hospital massacre left 460 people dead during the 48-hour killing spree.
The World Health Organisation said two days later, ‘six health workers, four doctors, a nurse and a pharmacist, were abducted’ and ‘more than 460 patients and their companions were reportedly shot and killed in the hospital,’ by the paramilitaries.
Analysis by the Yale School of Public Health Humanitarian Research Lab, which has been tracking the siege using open source images and satellite imagery, found clusters of objects ‘consistent with the size of human bodies’ and ‘reddish ground discolouration’ thought to be either blood or disturbed soil.
A report published on Monday said the actions of the RSF ‘may be consistent with war crimes and crimes against humanity and may rise to the level of genocide’.
On Monday, UN rights chief Volker Turk spoke of a growing risk of ‘ethnically motivated violations and atrocities’ in el-Fasher.
In a statement, the RSF said it ‘categorically denied’ the allegations that it carried out the massacre at the hospital, which it said were part of an ‘intensive propaganda campaign’.
The war has so far killed more than 40,000 people, according to United Nations figures, but aid groups say that is an underestimate and the true number could be many times higher.
