Sudanese human rights NGOs said they had information that the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had detained over 5,000 individuals in the capital and were detaining them in inhumane circumstances.
For three months, the RSF has been fighting the Sudanese army and has dominated the Sudanese capital on the ground. The military has been accused by residents of plundering and invading homes.
When approached for reply, the RSF stated that the claims were false and that it exclusively housed well-treated prisoners of war.
“These organisations are ignoring violations committed by the army against civilians, such as air and artillery strikes, detentions, and arming of civilians,” a force representative stated.
The detainees included fighters, but also 3,500 civilians, including vulnerable women and foreign people, according to the NGOs, whose identities were suppressed for fear of retaliation.
The organisation stated that they will provide proof of incidents of death by torture to the United Nations, as well as “degrading, inhumane detention conditions devoid of human dignity and the most basic necessities of life.”
The United Nations Human Rights Office reported on Thursday that at least 87 individuals were buried in a mass grave near the Darfur city of El Geneina, blaming the RSF and affiliated militias of the deaths, which the RSF rejected.
The International Criminal Court said late Thursday that it will probe deaths throughout the area. The RSF did not respond to an inquiry about the probe.