Eyewitnesses: In Sudan, militias shoot fleeing torture by Russians in Ukraine: ‘They enjoyed it’

According to eyewitnesses, militias shoot at refugees in Sudan. This was reported by the UN Human Rights Office in Geneva on Saturday. The people of the West Darfur region spoke of “armed Arab militias” supported by the military force Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The RSF is commanded by former deputy ruler Mohammed Hamdan Daglo. Since mid-April, he has been embroiled in a power struggle with de facto head of state Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the regular army. About 2.5 million people have already been displaced by the fighting, about half a million of them abroad.

The militias mainly targeted young men of the Masalit people, eyewitnesses reported. The UN Human Rights Office has been able to speak to 16 of them. They reported dozens of dead bodies along the roads in a region called Shukri, about ten kilometers from the border with Chad. Those who fled were flung to the ground and shot at close range, or entire groups were shot at. A 37-year-old reported that of his group of 30 fleeing, only 17 survived. A 22-year-old woman said her group had to leave a badly injured young man behind because they couldn’t carry him across the border.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called on the RSF leadership to clearly condemn the events and ensure that fleeing people are not attacked. (sda/dpa)