The ongoing Sudan conflict with government forces opposing the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militia continue taking a toll on civilians, two United Nations (UN) agencies report.
The past week (9 to 15 July) saw 200,000 Sudanese displaced by fighting in their own country with, in an unrelated report, the UN Human Rights High Commissioner recording 87 civilians buried in a west Darfur mass grave.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said the latest displacement numbers, when added to the total since fighting started on 15 April, showed 26 million plus Sudanese displaced.
This does not include the 730,000, a UN refugee agency statistic on the number who fled the country in the face of fighting.
The Darfur mass grave, according to Commissioner Volker Türk, included Masalit ethnic community members, killed by RSF soldiers and militia allies. He said further local people were forced to dispose of the bodies in a mass grave outside regional capital El-Geneina. “This denied those killed a decent burial in one of the city’s cemeteries.”
“I am 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 and those responsible must be held to account,” Türk said.
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