By Staff, Agencies

Two mass graves containing thousands of bodies were discovered in Khartoum’s al-Riyadh neighborhood, where the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) previously operated command centers and detention sites.

Witnesses say civilians and military personnel were tortured and killed, with detainees forced to carry bodies to pits dug by excavators. Personal belongings, shoes, and sandals were scattered around the graves.

Sudanese Attorney General Intisar Ahmed Abdel Aal said the investigation has been delayed due to the overwhelming number of victims.

Efforts are underway to recover and properly bury the remains in coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross. She added that mass graves are not limited to Khartoum, also appearing in Wad Madani and other central Sudan regions.

In El Fasher, west of Khartoum, the International Criminal Court formally confirmed that the RSF committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during their October 2025 seizure of the city.

Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan presented evidence, including videos, audio recordings, and satellite imagery, showing ethnically targeted executions, systematic sexual violence, arbitrary detentions, and mass concealments.

The ICC determination is the first formal acknowledgment of atrocities during Sudan’s ongoing war, which began in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF.

Khan noted that patterns in El Fasher mirror those of the 2023 El Geneina massacre, where UN experts estimate 10,000–15,000 civilians were killed.

This discovery and the ICC findings highlight the scale of human rights abuses amid Sudan’s continuing conflict.