In a shocking incident, a mass grave containing the bodies of 87 people was uncovered in West Darfur, Sudan. It is alleged that they were killed by the Sudanese paramilitary forces Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its allied Arab militia. However, RSF has denied any involvement.
Conflict in Sudan
Sudan has been going through a highly violent phase since April due to the ongoing conflict between the military-led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary RSF led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
Darfur has been one of the epicentres of the ongoing conflict, which has seen the RSF and its allies, arab militias attacking African ethnic groups, including Masalit.
According to United Nations, the first 37 bodies were buried in the shallow grave on 20th June, and on the next day, another 50 bodies were dumped at the same site. Among the 87 bodies recovered, seven bodies belonging to children and seven bodies of Women were recovered.
Killing of the Governor
These people were killed between the 13th to 21st of June in the Al-Jamarek and Al-Madaress districts due to the violence in the aftermath of the assassination of West Darfur’s governor.
In an interview, the governor, Khamis Abdalla Abkar, had accused the paramilitary of attacking residents across the city of Geneina. Hours later, he was abducted and killed under mysterious circumstances.
According to reports, in just two months of the conflict, more than 2,38,000 people have crossed the border and fled into neighbouring Chad. Amid the mass exodus, West Darfur has been looted and burnt to the ground.
A repeat of 2003?
This comes just days after Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the International Criminal Court to investigate atrocities in Sudan, saying that at least 28 Masalit tribesmen were executed by RSF and allied Arab militias in Misterei.
HRW alleged that on 28th May, thousands of RSF members and their allies armed with assault rifles, machine guns, and rocket-propelled grenades rampaged Misterei before massacring its male residents, killing 97 people.
The ethnic killings had increased the fear of atrocities similar to those in Darfur two decades ago. In 2003, Janjaweed militias helped the government crush a rebellion in Darfur, killing approximately 3,00,000 people. This militia group later came to be known as Rapid Support Forces.
Reactions and peace talks
Sudan’s army spokesperson, Brig Gen Nabil Abdullah, said that the discovery of the mass graves increases the level of war crimes. He also added that this proves that RSF is not against the army but against the citizen of Sudan.
UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Turk, condemned the incident in the strongest terms and demanded a prompt and thorough investigation.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, a meeting was hosted by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi to discuss peace talks between all the leaders from Sudan’s six neighbouring countries. The leaders of Chad, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Libya, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic attended the meeting held in Cairo.
