'I saw the soldiers throwing dozens of dead bodies into the ditch'

0
"If I show you these pictures and videos or find out that I took them, the people I used to work with will not let me live," he said, showing the pictures on his phone.

He shot those scenes in the city of Al-Jenina.

Keeping his safety in mind, we have changed his name.

Before fleeing Sudan, he was part of a group tasked with removing bodies from the streets of Darfur and burying them in mass graves.

Filled with mobile phone lights to operate on pregnant women
Why is the fighting raging in Sudan now?
Darfur is reeling from a conflict that began last April between the country's paramilitary force, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and the army. Darfur is also a stronghold of the RSF.

Orders to be 'sorted out'
Dozens of dead bodies can be seen in Malim's phone photos. Some bodies are covered with blankets and cloths, some bodies are swollen or decomposed.

He also showed pictures of various aid agency premises that had been demolished and looted.

“I felt very bad. I think they died in fear and terror. Several dead bodies were strewn on the road for more than a week." He seemed uncomfortable remembering that.

After a fight breaks out where 'dogs eat corpses in the road'
Clashes between the Sudanese army and paramilitary forces
The most disturbing scene was seen in a video taken by him hiding in the bushes. It shows bodies being dumped from a lorry into a mass grave.

“We went to the forest cemetery to bury the dead. But the RSF did not allow us to do that. That is why the driver of the truck was asked to take the dead bodies to a ditch as per the orders of the RSF.”

According to Malim, the RSF then ordered them to leave the place.

“They should have been buried according to Islamic rites. We should have prayed for them. But the RSF insisted that the bodies should be disposed of like garbage.”

No one knows who the bodies belong to or how they died.

But many families who have taken refuge in Chad say the RSF has targeted young men and teenagers, particularly young men and teenagers, in West Darfur and taken them out of hiding and killed them.


Non-Arab community in Nisana

Some families said the non-Arab community was being targeted. According to them, the RSF used to stop them at check posts and question them about their ethnic identity. They said they were afraid of being killed if they said they were 'Masalit'.

Asked by the BBC about the allegations, RSF did not respond.

But earlier last week he denied involvement in similar attacks on members of the Masalit community.

Malim's description is consistent with a report by the United Nations on July 13. It stated that local residents were forced to bury the bodies of at least 87 Masalit tribals and others who were said to have been killed by the RSF.

Nepalese who escaped from Sudan say, 'Let there be no money but rescue of the stranded friends'
Thousands of people are in a hurry to leave the country before the end of the ceasefire in Sudan
From the metadata of photos and videos on Malim's phone, the content appears to have been taken between June 20 and June 21. The United Nations report also mentions the same date.

Malim told us that the body was buried in an open field at al-Turab al-Ahmar, as noted in the UN report. It is near a police camp west of Al-Jenina city.


A wounded man on top of a pile of dead bodies
The United Nations statement noted that some people died without receiving treatment.

In one of Malim's videos, a man is seen alive in a pile of corpses. The person trying to speak can be seen gasping and slurring his lips.

Malim said that the person who was shot had been there for eight days. We don't know what happened to that person.

Sudan crisis: 'Worse' than Syria and Libya, warned
Sudan Coup: Seven protesters dead and dozens injured
Malim said he shot the video to document what was happening in his hometown. But immediately he did not feel safe to stay there, he said.

"I was scared because they searched more than once for people with mobile phones while they were disposing (the bodies)."


Chronic stress
Conflict between the Darfur Arabs and the black African community living in Darfur has been going on for years. The worst violence occurred two decades ago when non-Arabs took up arms accusing the government of discrimination.

The RSF was born out of the infamous 'Janjaweed Arab' militant group. The group killed hundreds of people during its brutal suppression of the rebellion. The group has been accused of genocide and ethnic cleansing. It is also considered the first genocide of the 21st century.

Fighting broke out between the RSF and the Sudanese army in April. It appears to have re-ignited the conflict. The governor of West Darfur was killed last month after the RSF was accused of targeting the Masalit community for genocide.

This time, the violence in Darfur does not appear to be sporadic. We have heard allegations that the RSF and coalition Arab militias have systematically targeted senior figures in black African groups such as Masalit, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee to neighboring Chad.

The RSF said it was not involved, presenting it as a resurgence of ethnic conflicts seen in the 2000s.

Like thousands of Sudanese who have fled Darfur, Malim has little attraction to return to his country.

He said his house was burnt down and his family's property was looted. But what is even more painful is that many of his friends and family members will not be there.
Tags

Post a Comment

0Comments
Post a Comment (0)
To Top