Human rights organizations and activists in Sudan confirmed to Reuters on Friday that they have evidence that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have detained over 5,000 individuals in inhumane conditions in the capital, Khartoum. The organizations noted that there are fighters among the detainees in various locations across Khartoum, but also included are 3,500 civilians, including women and foreign nationals. The group stated that they would present documentation to the United Nations of cases of deaths resulting from torture, in addition to "humiliating, inhumane treatment that undermines human dignity in degrading detention conditions lacking the most basic necessities of life."
For its part, the Rapid Support Forces stated that "the reports are incorrect and that they only detain prisoners of war, who are treated well." The RSF told Reuters that "the organizations ignore the military’s violations of civilians' rights, such as airstrikes, heavy artillery bombardments, arrests, and the distribution of weapons to civilians."
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs announced yesterday that at least 87 people were buried in a mass grave in the city of Geneina in the Darfur region and accused the RSF and allied armed factions of killing these individuals, a claim that the RSF denies.
