Ethnic Masalit civilians in West Darfur faced “six days of terror” as hundreds were killed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allied Arab militias in the town of Ardamata earlier this month, the Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Jeremy Laurence, said in a statement on 17 November. The RSF, fighting in Sudan’s civil war against the military, captured the Sudanese army’s base in Ardamata on 4 November, marking the beginning of a series of brutalities. “The RSF and its allied militias reportedly looted property, tortured IDPs, and executed many of them before leaving their bodies unburied in the streets” in two refugee camps and the Masalit-majority neighborhood of Al-Kabri, Laurence said. Of particular concern, Laurence cited the execution of sixty-six Masalit men on 5 November alone. Hundreds others were apprehended and taken to RSF-operated detention camps, their fate remaining unknown. The atrocities extended beyond killings, with reports of sexual violence against women and girls, targeting of young Masalit men and Sudanese army soldiers’ relatives, and the displacement of thousands, some seeking refuge in Chad. This incident isn’t an isolated occurrence, as Laurence pointed…
“Six Days of Terror” in West Darfur: RSF Commits Atrocities Against Masalit Civilians
November 18, 2023
