UN: At Least 13 Mass Graves in Sudan's Darfur
The UN Joint Human Rights Office has received 'credible reports' that at least 13 mass graves exist around the West Darfur city of El Geneina, claimed Sudan's UN envoy Volker Perthes as he announced his resignation on Wednesday....
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Facts
- The UN Joint Human Rights Office has received 'credible reports' that at least 13 mass graves exist around the West Darfur city of El Geneina, claimed Sudan's UN envoy Volker Perthes as he announced his resignation on Wednesday.1
- In his final speech to the UN Security Council, Perthes alleged that the mass graves contained victims of attacks by the paramilitary RSF and allied Arab militias on civilians and, 'if verified, may constitute war crimes.'2
- Violence in El Geneina, located close to Sudan's border with Chad, has escalated since conflict between the RSF (Rapid Support Forces) and the Sudanese army erupted in mid-April.3
- On Wednesday, at least 40 civilians were reportedly killed in an airstrike that hit two markets and several neighborhoods in Nyala, South Darfur's capital and the country's second-largest city.4
- This comes after the UN Refugee Agency projected that over 1.8M people from Sudan will flee to five neighboring countries by the end of the year due to inter-communal violence.5
- Since mid-April, the conflict between two military formations has reportedly killed at least 7.5K people, displaced 5M, and left more than 20M suffering from food insecurity.6
Sources: 1Reuters, 2Al arabiya english, 3English, 4The east african, 5Voa and 6Arab news.
Narratives
- Narrative A, as provided by Ahram online. The atrocities in Darfur show that the conflict between the Sudanese military and the RSF is on the verge of full escalation. While neither side appears close to a decisive military victory, the conflict could now escalate into a full-blown civil war. Both sides are guilty of crimes against civilians and must be held accountable.
- Narrative B, as provided by Washington Post. Twenty years after Darfur dominated the headlines, the RSF is perpetrating systematic genocide and exploiting the chaos to continue the ethnic cleansing of Darfur from the African tribes. The international community must exhaust all means to end the atrocities.
