A Sudanese warlord, known as Abu Lulu and infamously labeled the ‘butcher of the century,’ has been apprehended following his appearance in TikTok videos where he carried out gruesome executions.

This marked a significant moment as Abu Lulu, a notorious figure among several paramilitaries, faced arrest for his role in the violent takeover of El-Fasher by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The chilling acts of brutality committed during the siege have put him at the forefront of accusations of human rights abuses.

The world was shocked as disturbing images surfaced, depicting the execution of civilians after the city fell. The United Nations has raised alarms about the potential for further atrocities, as substantial evidence of widespread killings continues to emerge. One particularly harrowing video shows Abu Lulu executing nine unarmed men at close range, while nearby soldiers exultantly chant his name.

These scenes are just part of the violent landscape that has unfolded in El-Fasher, located in western Sudan, since its capture last weekend.

In a tragic span of 48 hours following the city’s fall, over 2,000 civilians lost their lives at the hands of RSF members, marking one of the deadliest massacres in recent memory.

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, a Sudanese warlord dubbed the ‘butcher of the century’, being led to a prison cell

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.