U.N. accuses Sudan's RSF of burying 87 in mass grave; ICC launches investigation

July 13 (UPI) -- Nearly 90 people have been found in a mass grave in Sudan where the warring factions of its military have been in a bloody conflict for three months, United Nations Human Rights Office said Thursday, as the International Criminal Court confirmed it has launched investigations into the hostilities.

The U.N. cited "credible information" obtained by the office that the 87 people, including ethnic Masalit, were killed and buried in West Darfur under the orders of the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, the leading militia in Sudan that has been locked in a war with the Sudanese Armed Forces since April.

"I condemn in the strongest terms the killing of civilians and hors de combat individuals, and I am further appalled by the callous and disrespectful way the dead, along with their families and communities, were treated," Volker Turk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement.

"There must be a prompt, thorough and independent investigation into the killings, and those responsible must be held to account."

The agency said at least 37 bodies were buried on June 20 in the approximately 3-feet-deep mass grave in an open area called Al-Turab Al Ahmar.

The office said another 50 bodies were buried at the same site on June 21, including seven women and seven children.

It added local people were forced to dispose of the bodies in a mass grave, denying those killed a decent burial in one of the city's cemeteries.

The Office said many of the deaths followed the killing of Khamis Abbaker, the governor of West Darfur, on June 13, shortly after he was taken into custody by the RSF. The deaths also include individuals who died from untreated injuries.

"The RSF's leadership and their allied militia as well as all parties to an armed conflict are required to ensure that the dead are properly handled, and their dignity protected," Turk said. "The RSF must record, or allow relief workers to record, all available information related to the dead."

The accusation came as ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan told the U.N. Security Council that his office has commenced investigations in the conflict, including allegations that the RSF and members of its allied militias were responsible for the mass graves.

"We are by any analysis not on the precipice of a human catastrophe but it in the midst of one. It is occurring," he said. "And it's my analysis and my pray and advice that we must act urgently, collectively to protect the most vulnerable."

If this oft repeated phrase of 'never again' is to mean anything, it must mean something here and now for the people of Darfur who have lived with this uncertainty and pain and the scars of conflict for almost two decades."

During the U.N. Security Council session, Khan reiterated his office's mandate by the body to investigate and hold accountable those who commit war crimes and crimes against humanity, while warning foot soldiers to commanders in the war that those who target civilians, schools and humanitarian supplies that they are committing harms "that are so profound they go beyond words."

The report he presented to the council states it has received allegations of sexual and gender-based violence including campaigns of mass rape. It also states that the office is closely monitoring reports of extra-judicial killings and the burning of homes and markets in West Darfur and the killing and displacement of civilians in North Darfur and throughout the region.

In Washington, the State Department condemned the targeted killings by the RSF and the alleged crimes detailed in the report from the U.N. human rights office, while applauding the ICC for launching investigations into potential war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the fighting.

"Let this be a message to all who commit atrocities, in Sudan and elsewhere, that such crimes are an affront to humanity," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. "We urge all states to cooperate with the ICC to deliver the justice promised to the people of Darfur."

Sudan had for years teetered on the precipice of war and stability since the military ousted the country's former nearly three-decade dictator government of President Omar al-Bashir in a civilian-backed coup in 2019.

As the country crawled toward democracy, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the SAF, and his deputy, RSF head Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, led a coup in 2021, but infighting over control of the government turned into bloodshed on April 15, which has continued.

According to the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration, since the fighting began, nearly 3 million people have been displaced. It states 2.2 million have been displaced within the country and another 700,000 have been forced to cross borders into neighboring nations.