Sudan: UN Says 87 Found in Darfur Mass Grave

Facts

• The UN Human Rights Office said Thursday that a mass grave containing the bodies of at least 87 people — including women and children — was found just outside El-Geneina, the capital of Sudan's West Darfur state, accusing the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its allied militias of the atrocity.¹
• The UN reported that from June 20-21, local people were forced to dispose of dead bodies in a shallow grave in an open area outside the city. An unknown number of the dead were ethnic Masalits — a non-Arab people who the RSF has been accused of targeting in El-Geneina.²
• According to the UN's statement, the first 37 bodies were buried on June 20, and another 50 bodies were dumped at the same site the next day — with seven women and seven children among the buried.³
• The RSF has denied being responsible, saying recently that it did not get involved in the fighting in Darfur "as the conflict is a tribal one."⁴
• Starting in 2003, a conflict in Darfur erupted killing hundreds of thousands in a violent campaign that was described as ethnic cleansing. Arab militias, often called the Janjaweed, were accused of the killings [and were eventually reorganized into the RSF].⁵
• The current conflict began in mid-April between Abdel Fattah al-Burhan's Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. After heavy fighting erupted in Khartoum, killing hundreds of civilians, neither side has since gained a substantial upper hand and fighting has spread to other regions, such as Darfur.⁶

Sources: ¹DW, ²Guardian, ³FOX News, ⁴Al Jazeera, ⁵CNN, and ⁶The National.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by New York Times. Since violence erupted in Sudan, US Sec. of State Antony Blinken has worked hard to stamp out violence by proposing a peaceful solution and providing safe passage for humanitarian aid. The US-backed mediation coalition is doing its part to enable a diplomatic resolution and commit itself to supporting refugees until a ceasefire or permanent agreement is reached.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by AL. Though the US and Saudi Arabia brokered a ceasefire, it's undeniable that Washington is significantly responsible for the fighting in Sudan. The US failed to rein in the country's top generals when mounting tensions between forces led by al-Burhan and Dagalo indicated that a prolonged conflict was likely to erupt. Facilitating a truce is the least US leaders can do for the region, given this negligence.
• Cynical narrative, as provided by NPR Online News. Each warring side in Sudan is still battling for supremacy over the country, which indicates they're in no way serious about these ceasefires or peace talks. If the two continue to see each other as an existential threat, it will be impossible to find the middle ground necessary to stop the fighting and prevent the nation from being destroyed.