Sudan Journalist Executed After RSF Seizes El-Fasher

December 02, 2025 – Sudan –

The killing of Sudanese journalist Taj al-Sir Ahmed Suleiman has sent shockwaves through Sudan’s media community, marking one of the most chilling attacks on press freedom since the war began. Suleiman, the El-Fasher bureau chief for the state-run Sudan News Agency (SUNA), was executed alongside his brother after Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters stormed their family home in late October, following the militia’s takeover of the besieged city.

For months, El-Fasher had been encircled by RSF forces, its residents trapped under an intensifying campaign of violence. When the city finally fell after the prolonged siege, many feared the worst for journalists who had remained to document events. Suleiman was among the few who continued reporting throughout the crisis, becoming a crucial link between the isolated population and the outside world.

Witness accounts and statements from SUNA indicate that RSF fighters entered Suleiman’s home in the Al-Daraga neighbourhood shortly after securing the area. The brothers were reportedly shot at close range, an act described by rights groups as a deliberate killing rather than collateral violence. Their bodies were later recovered by neighbours who had sheltered in nearby houses during the assault.

Press-freedom organisations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists, condemned the killing, calling it a targeted assault on independent reporting. Colleagues say Suleiman played an essential role during the siege, documenting civilian deaths, displacement, and RSF abuses even as communication networks collapsed. His reporting, often done under harsh conditions, provided rare verified information from a city cut off from the rest of the country.

Local reporters say his death has created an information blackout in North Darfur. With most journalists having fled, been detained, or gone into hiding, the flow of reliable news has nearly disappeared. Residents, aid groups, and international monitors now struggle to obtain updates from a region where widespread human rights violations are feared.

Suleiman’s killing fits into a broader pattern of attacks on Sudanese journalists since the conflict erupted in April 2023. At least a dozen media workers have been killed, kidnapped, or disappeared — many under circumstances suggesting targeted reprisals.

Reference – 

https://www.trtworld.com/article/b9c45aa0dbe1

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2624761/amp

Sudanese journalist Taj al-Sir Ahmed Suleiman killed by RSF paramilitary in EL-Fasher