UN: At least 87, including Masalits, buried in mass grave in Sudan’s West Darfur

The UN human rights office said on Thursday at least 87 people including ethnic Masalits were buried in what it described as a mass grave in Sudan’s West Darfur, saying it had credible information that the Rapid Support Forces were responsible.

RSF officials denied any involvement, saying the paramilitary group was not a party to the conflict in West Darfur.

Ethnically motivated bloodshed has escalated in recent weeks in step with fighting between rival military factions that erupted in April and has brought the country to the brink of civil war. In El Geneina, witnesses and rights groups have reported waves of attacks by the RSF and Arab militias against the non-Arab Masalit people, including shootings at close range.

Local people were forced to dispose of the bodies including those of women and children in a shallow grave in an open area near the city between June 20-21, the UN statement said. Some of the people had died from untreated injuries, it said.

“I condemn in the strongest terms the killing of civilians and hors de combat individuals, and I am further appalled by the callous and disrespectful way the dead, along with their families and communities, were treated,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk in a statement.

He called for a prompt and thorough investigation.

An RSF senior official who declined to be identified said it “completely denies any connection to the events in West Darfur as we are not party to it, and we did not get involved in a conflict as the conflict is a tribal one.”

Another RSF source said it was being accused due to political motivations from the Masalit and others. He reiterated that the group was ready to participate in an investigation and to hand over any of its forces found to have broken the law.

It was not possible to determine exactly what portion of the dead were Masalits, a UN spokesperson added.