Sudan: bodies found in territory recaptured from the RSF
Bodies have been discovered in parts of Sudan recently recaptured by the army after nearly two years under the control of paramilitary RSF fighters.
According to Middle East Monitor on March 17th, volunteers pulled bodies out of a well, whilst other bodies were discovered on roadsides and in basements in the Sharg Elnil district.
Most of the 15 victims found in the well were discovered with gunshot wounds to the head, though some had injuries that suggested they were thrown in the well alive
Hisham Zain al-Abdin, director of forensic medicine for Khartoum state, described the situation saying, “A lot of things happened here, and horrific scenes.”
Many of the bodies discovered on roadsides or hidden in basements were tied up, said Al-Abdin.
Sudan is two years into a Civil War, with government forces now reclaiming territory long held by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who officially broke with the military authorities in April 2023.
Sudanese authorities are now discovering widespread evidence of killings in formerly RSF controlled areas.
Thus far, the RSF has not responded to any requests for comment. Previously, it has denied accusations of widespread abuses in the areas it controlled, promising that individual perpetrators would be brought to account. The RSF made the same allegations against the Sudanese army, which the army has also denied.
Hussein Al-Faki, a resident who reported the bodies in the well to the authorities, said locals attempted to bury the victims, but the armed men who controlled the area during RSF occupation “warned us not to go near them”.
“If you got closer, they would shoot you. They scared us, so we ran away and left them,” said Al-Faki.
Middle East Monitor, Maghrebi, India Today
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