graves

The Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces are collecting bodies after the deadly takeover of North Darfur capital, US researcher says.

A researcher at Yale University in the United States says the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are digging mass graves in el-Fasher, the city in Sudan’s western Darfur region that has seen mass killings and displacement since the RSF took over last month.

Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale’s School of Public Health, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that the RSF “have begun to dig mass graves and to collect bodies throughout the city”.

“They are cleaning up the massacre,” Raymond said.

The RSF seized control of el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, on October 26, after the withdrawal of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), which has been fighting the paramilitary group for control of Sudan since April 2023.

More than 70,000 people have fled the city and surrounding areas since the RSF’s takeover, according to the United Nations, while witnesses and human rights groups have reported cases of “summary executions”, sexual violence and massacres of civilians.

A report from Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab on October 28 also found evidence of “mass killings” since the RSF took control of el-Fasher, including apparent pools of blood that were visible in satellite imagery.

UN officials also warned this week that thousands of people are believed to be trapped in el-Fasher.

“The current insecurity continues to block access, preventing the delivery of life-saving assistance to those trapped in the city without food, water and medical care,” Jacqueline Wilma Parlevliet, a senior UN refugee agency (UNHCR) official in Sudan, said.

Sudanese journalist Abdallah Hussain explained that, before the RSF’s full takeover, el-Fasher was already reeling from an 18-month siege imposed by the paramilitary group.

“No aid was allowed to access the city, and no healthcare facilities [were] operating,” Hussain told Al Jazeera from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, on Tuesday. “Now it’s getting even worse for the citizens who remain trapped.”

Amid global condemnation, the RSF and its supporters have tried to downplay the atrocities committed in el-Fasher, accusing allied armed groups of being responsible.

The RSF’s leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, has also promised an investigation.

But Raymond at the Humanitarian Research Lab said: “if they want to actually have an investigation, then they need to withdraw from the city [and] let UN personnel and the Red Cross and humanitarians enter … and go house-to-house looking to see who’s still alive”.

“At this point, we can’t let the RSF investigate themselves,” he said.

Raymond added that, based on UN figures and what can be seen on the ground in el-Fasher, “more people could have died [in 10 days]… than have died in the past two years of the war in Gaza”.

“That’s what we’re talking about. That’s not hyperbole,” he told Al Jazeera, stressing that thousands of people need emergency assistance.

More than 68,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7, 2023.

Erin Moriarty, the outspoken and righteous Starlight of “The Boys,” is speaking out about her health, specifically her ongoing battle with an autoimmune disorder.

Moriarty, 30, revealed to her Instagram followers on Friday that she was diagnosed last month with Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disorder in which the thyroid becomes overactive. In the caption of her post, Moriarty expresses the positive effects of treatment but reveals the disorder could have been identified earlier “if I hadn’t chalked it all up to stress and fatigue.”

The “Jessica Jones” and “One Life to Live” actor shared a carousel of photos including text message exchanges with her parents. In one screenshot Moriarty tells her mother “I really need relief” as she details her discomfort. “I can’t live like this forever,” she writes.

“It’s not just fatigue — it’s an ineffable, system wide cry for help and I don’t know how long I can remain in this state,” Moriarty continues in her text to her mother.

Moriarty did not reveal too much about her symptoms, noting in her caption that “autoimmune disease manifests differently in everybody/every body.” According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of Graves’ disease can include “feeling nervous or irritable,” slight tremors of the hands or fingers, weight loss, menstrual changes and heart palpitations. Wendy Williams, Daisy Ridley and Missy Elliott have also spoken publicly about living with Graves’ disease.

“Within 24 hours of beginning treatment, I felt the light coming back on,” Moriarty said in her caption. “It’s been increasing in strength ever since.”

She did not reveal the details of her treatment, but Moriarty told her father in a text message, “I already feel a world of a difference” and that she has since been thinking, “‘Damn, this is how I’m supposed to feel? I’ve been missing out!’”

Since “The Boys” premiered on Prime Video in 2019, Moriarty has starred as superhero Annie January, a.k.a. Starlight, who possesses the power to fly and manipulate light. Without spoiling too much about the series, it now seems Moriarty knows what it’s like to lose her spark on- and off-screen — and how to get it back.

She concluded her post by urging followers to listen to their bodies and seek medical attention when something feels off. “If [your light] is dimming, even slightly, go get checked,” she said.

“Don’t ‘suck it up’ and transcend suffering; you deserve to be comfy. S—’s hard enough as is.”

Forensic experts in Iraq meticulously work to identify the remains from mass graves, uncovering the fates of thousands who disappeared during decades of conflict. With rare access to excavation sites, the unfolding story reveals the tireless efforts of DNA specialists and the emotional journeys of families seeking closure.

As bones and belongings resurface, survivors confront the harrowing legacy of the Saddam Hussein era, sectarian violence, and ISIL (ISIS) atrocities. The painstaking process of identification not only brings solace to grieving families but also fuels the broader fight for justice and accountability in a country still grappling with its traumatic past.

If the Dead Come Home is a documentary film by Aaron Weintraub.