Geneva, 14 July, 2023 (GNP): The United Nations (UN) Human Rights Office has uncovered a mass grave in West Darfur, Sudan, containing the bodies of at least 87 individuals who were allegedly killed by Sudanese paramilitary forces and an affiliated Arab militia. The victims, including members of the ethnic African Masalit tribe, were reportedly victims of targeted violence in the region.
According to credible information obtained by the UN Human Rights Office, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Arab militia are suspected of carrying out the killings and subsequently dumping the bodies in a one-meter (around three-foot) grave just outside the city of Geneina in West Darfur.
#Sudan: At least 87 buried in mass grave in Darfur as Rapid Support Forces deny victims decent burials. @Volker_Turk condemns killings of civilians and is appalled by callous & disrespectful treatment of the dead https://t.co/BdwbHePOib
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) July 13, 2023
The violent conflict in Sudan, which erupted in mid-April, has led to escalating tensions between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Darfur has witnessed a significant increase in ethnic violence, with the paramilitary troops and allied Arab militias targeting the Masalit and other African ethnic groups.
The UN agency from Geneva disclosed that the first 37 bodies were buried in the shallow grave on June 20, followed by an additional 50 bodies dumped at the same location the next day. Shockingly, among the victims were seven women and seven children. Local residents were reportedly forced by the Rapid Support Forces and Arab militia to bury the bodies.
According to the UN agency, these brutal killings occurred between June 13 and June 21 in the Al-Madaress and Al-Jamarek districts of Geneina, following the violence triggered by the assassination of West Darfur’s governor, Khamis Abdalla Abkar. The circumstances surrounding Governor Abkar’s abduction and subsequent killing remain unclear, it added.
Over the past two months, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and their allies have wreaked havoc in West Darfur, leading to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of individuals from their homes, according to human rights groups. Recent figures from the International Organization for Migration indicate that over 238,000 people have sought refuge across the border in neighboring Chad. Entire towns and villages in West Darfur have been burned and looted amid the rampage.
Darfur has endured a tragic history of conflict, including a genocidal war in the early 2000s, as ethnic Africans rebelled against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum, accusing it of discrimination. The government, under former dictator Omar al-Bashir, was accused of supporting local nomadic Arab tribes, known as Janjaweed, who targeted civilians in retaliation.
The UN and international community emphasize the need for a thorough investigation into these heinous acts. Efforts must be made to hold those responsible accountable and to prevent further escalation of violence and suffering in the region.