The United Nations Human Right Office confirmed that, “credible information” has uncovered the remains of 87 people, dug from a shallow one-meter grave, outside the province of Western Darfur. It is believed that, many of the bodies belong to the ethnic African Masalit tribe.
The UN Human Right Office has attributed this heinous crime to the Rapid Support Force and its allied militias. Information from the UN agency stated that, the first 37 bodies were buried on June 20. Additional 50 bodies were disposed at the same location the following day. Among those buried included seven ladies and seven children.
Sudan is not new to civil warfare, as the country has been in conflict since the start of the 21st century. The recent violence began on April 15, after series of failed negotiation between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which broke out into a full blown gun warfare.
One of Sudan’s regions that has been the center of conflict in the country, is the Darfur region. The recent 12-week warfare has awaken a sleeping conflict in the Darfur, in which the Rapid Support Forces and its allied militia have resumed their attacks in the province.
According to the UN Human Right Office, the RSF and its associated Arab militias have decimated Western province, and driven out thousands of civilians from their homes. Many of the civilians crossed to the neighboring Chad, to seek safety.
Moreover, Darfur was the site of a genocide in the early 2000s, when ethnic Africans rebelled, accusing Khartoum’s Arab-dominated government of prejudice and neglect. The administration of former dictator Omar al-Bashir retaliated by arming local nomadic Arab tribes known as Janjaweed, who targeted people and leader in the province.
Sudan Neighbors Gather In Cairo
In Cairo, Egypt, leaders from six countries that borders and surrounds Sudan, gathered for a high-profile peace talks, to end the ongoing conflict in Sudan. This is the first of its kind, since war broke out in the Northeastern African country, in mid-April.
The meeting, hosted by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, was attended by the leaders of Ethiopia, South Sudan, Chad, Eritrea, the Central African Republic and Libya.
According to Health Minister Haitham Mohammed Ibrahim, the fighting has killed over 3,000 people and injured over 6,000 others. However, medical professionals and activists believe that, the actual number of casualties could be far higher.
The International Organization for Migration also estimates that, the violence has compelled over 2.4 million people to leave their homes for safer locations within the nation. The organization reported that approximately 738,000 additional people have entered neighboring nations.
The Egyptian President Abdul Fattah el-Siisi, who happens to be chair of the meeting, stated in his opening speech that, his agenda for the current problem involves establishing long-lasting cease-fire agreements, securing humanitarian corridors, and a framework for negotiation that would involve all of Sudan’s extensive political factions.
Also, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an eight-member East African bloc chaired by Kenyan President William Ruto, demanded that both parties adhere to cease-fire agreements.
There have been series of negotiations since the clashes began, but none of the agreed ceasefires have yielded results. A Saudi-Us negotiations fell out after the commander of the Sudanese Army General Abdul Fattah el-Burhan, pull out from the negotiations.
However, a scheduled negotiations in Saudi Arabia was called off last week, since both parties repeatedly declined to halt hostilities and abuse ceasefire agreement.
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