At least 87 ethnic Masalit and others buried in mass grave in West Darfur: UN rights body
July 13, 2023 (Geneva) – Disturbing reports have emerged from West Darfur, revealing the burial of at least 87 individuals in a mass grave.
According to the UN Human Rights Office, credible information obtained on Thursday suggests that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allied militia allegedly killed the victims last month.
The bodies were forcefully disposed of in a mass grave located outside El-Geneina, depriving the deceased of a proper burial in the city’s cemeteries, as stated in a released statement.
On June 20, approximately 37 bodies were interred in a shallow mass grave at a site called Al-Turab Al Ahmar (Red Soil) in the Ranga area, situated two to four kilometres northwest of the Central Reserve Police headquarters in western El-Geneina. On June 21, an additional 50 bodies were buried at the same location. Shockingly, the deceased included seven women and seven children.
The victims buried in the mass grave were killed between June 13 and June 21 in the Al-Madaress and Al-Jamarek districts of El-Geneina.
These casualties encompass numerous individuals who became victims of the violence that erupted following the abduction and subsequent killing of Khamis Abbaker, the Governor of West Darfur, on June 14 while under the custody of the RSF. The grave also contains individuals who died from untreated injuries.
In response to these shocking revelations, Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, urgently appealed to the RSF and all parties involved in the conflict to cooperate in swiftly searching for the deceased, retrieving their bodies, and facilitating their evacuation. Türk stressed that these actions must be carried out without discrimination, in accordance with international law’s mandate to avoid any bias based on ethnicity.
“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. There must be a prompt, thorough, and independent investigation into the killings, and those responsible must be held accountable,” stated Türk.
Eyewitness accounts shed light on the significant delays local mediation efforts face in gaining access to the bodies for proper burial. Numerous bodies reportedly remained on the streets for days before families were granted permission to retrieve them. One grieving family shared their agonizing wait of 13 days to claim the body of a Masalit dignitary, who allegedly fell victim to the RSF and their allied militia on or around June 9.
Witnesses further disclosed that the RSF, despite sporadic consent for body collection following negotiations with Arab and other community leaders, vehemently opposed the transfer of injured individuals to hospitals for medical treatment.
“The RSF’s leadership, their allied militia, as well as all parties engaged in armed conflict, have an obligation to ensure that the deceased are treated with dignity and handled properly,” emphasized Türk.
According to international humanitarian and human rights laws, all parties involved in the conflict must provide necessary medical care to the injured.
The High Commissioner urgently called upon the RSF leadership to unreservedly condemn and cease the killing of individuals, ending violence and hate speech targeted at people based on ethnicity.
(ST)