Sudanese officials reported on Sunday the discovery of multiple bodies at the bottom of a well in Khartoum, occurring just days after the military ousted a well-known paramilitary group from the region.
On Saturday, police recovered 11 bodies, which included women and children, from the deep well situated in the Fayhaa neighborhood.
Col. Abdul-Rahanan Mohamed Hassan, who heads the civil defense team in Khartoum, indicated that the search commenced after local residents informed authorities about a corpse found in the well.
“We found several bodies within this well, comprising males, females, adults, and children,” Hassan remarked, noting that efforts to locate additional remains were still in progress.
Authorities suspect that the victims were killed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and subsequently disposed of in the well during the time the paramilitary group held control over the area.
Earlier this month, the military regained authority over the region as part of a larger offensive in Khartoum and Omdurman. The RSF has not yet issued a response.
Afraa al-Hajj Omar, a resident of the nearby Hajj Youssef neighborhood, alleged that the RSF had taken the lives of numerous individuals in the vicinity, leaving their bodies on the streets for extended periods.
She reported that many bodies were thrown into the well. “They robbed us, assaulted us, and subjected us to torture,” she recalled.
The ongoing conflict has led to a minimum of 20,000 fatalities, although the true number is likely significantly higher.
More than 14 million individuals have been forced to flee their homes, with certain regions of the country experiencing famine.
The fighting has wreaked havoc in Khartoum and other cities, characterized by horrific incidents such as widespread sexual violence and killings targeted at specific ethnic groups, which have been identified as war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in the western area of Darfur, as stated by the United Nations and various international human rights organizations.
In recent months, the violence has intensified, with the military achieving steady advancements against the RSF in Khartoum and surrounding regions.
