Sudan: Mass graves in West Darfur’s capital haunt remaining residents

Published

2 years ago

August 17, 2023

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Once the thriving capital of West Darfur, al Geneina is now nearly deserted.

Humanitarian volunteers told Sky News around 70% of the city’s half-a-million residents have fled since the start of the war in Sudan and that the bodies littering the streets are now buried at multiple mass grave sites after a huge clean-up operation.

The coordinates of potential mass grave sites on the outskirts of al Geneina shared by C4ADS, a Washington DC-based global security non-profit, have been verified by Sky News through various eyewitness accounts.

A satellite image from May shows regular mountainous terrain just north of the main artery connecting al Geneina to eastern Chad.

On 6 July, the same three areas are now visibly water-filled due to seasonal rainfall.

An eyewitness independently located this site for Sky News using landmarks on the map and says he watched as decomposing bodies were dumped into a body of water at the end of June.

“It was the start of the rainy season and they had disconnected the network so we had to go to the edges of the city to try and make calls,” he said.

The pitch of his voice climbed with urgency as he described the scene.

“After the police station and over the mountain – around 250 metres from a cattle slaughterhouse – I saw a group of scared residents throwing nine bodies into a large pond.”

Read more: Why did violence erupt in Sudan?

‘I lost 14 brothers and sisters’

One volunteer independently verified the location of this grave site and says he was present as 50 bodies were dumped there.

The next day, he was involved in the transportation of another 45 bodies.

“Our group was not happy with how the dead were being treated so we opted out of the burial. We helped with transporting the corpses but did not join for the dumping,” he says.

He identified the victims as being from the African Massalit and Burgo tribes and says that volunteers could not film or even make a call around the site.

“One guy we know was suspected of leaking information and was beaten until his leg broke.”

From the Burgo tribe himself, his own family has suffered from the extreme ethnic violence that ravaged al Geneina.

He says 14 of his brothers and sisters have been killed in al Geneina since the start of the war in April – many of them remained unburied for weeks after their deaths.

One of his sisters, a teenager, was shot in the head and killed in their home – a horrific incident corroborated by a humanitarian worker also in the city at the time.

“I buried my sister 54 days after she was killed. My mother was wounded at the same time and could not leave the house for a long time. She still hasn’t received any medical assistance,” said the volunteer, who is being kept anonymous for his safety.

He and his family are some of the remaining non-Arab residents in al Geneina.

His elderly father and wounded mother make leaving difficult and relocation funds are low after their savings were looted from their home amid the chaos.

The little income he gets from transporting bodies has helped him facilitate the burial of his family members.

‘Assassination attempts’ on volunteers trying to help

A humanitarian worker who has a long history of advocacy work in al Geneina believes that the city has been ethnically cleansed.

“The janjaweed militias practised forced displacement by burning homes and shelters for the displaced in a brutal and racist manner – killing civilians – which is considered a crime of genocide,” he said.

He added the campaign to tidy up the city’s emptied streets is led by Arab tribesmen and is an attempt to clean up the image of the Rapid Support Forces and their aligned militias who have been caught filling up mass graves.

“The Rapid Support Forces, along with Arab militias, participated by providing digging mechanisms such as bulldozers and trucks – in addition to designating burial areas. Sometimes they even participated with volunteers,” the source says.

Another mass grave site is reported on the northern outskirts of the city, along Tendelti road – a border town which was razed to the ground in May.

And even in this moment of relative calm in al Geneina, those told to bury the evidence of violence are facing violence themselves.

“There have been some assassination attempts in al Geneina these days of some of the volunteers who participated in the preparation and burial of bodies in the mass graves,” he says.

“The latest of which is the attempted assassination of the manager of the Sudanese Red Crescent in West Darfur, who was shot with live bullets and is now under medical care in Chad.”

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Kristi Noem: Top Trump official’s handbag – containing $3,000 in cash and security pass – stolen in burger restaurant

Published

1 hour ago

April 22, 2025

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Kristi Noem: Top Trump official's handbag - containing ,000 in cash and security pass - stolen in burger restaurant

A bag belonging to the US Homeland Security Secretary was stolen on Sunday night – containing thousands of dollars in cash and an ID card that gives access to secure agency buildings.

Kristi Noem was eating at a Washington DC burger restaurant with family when a man in a face covering sat near her table and stole her purse, according to two people familiar with the theft.

Officials confirmed the theft to Sky News’ US partner NBC News on Monday.

The cabinet secretary was carrying $3,000 (£2,243) in cash because “her entire family was in town including her children and grandchildren”, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told NBC.

“She was using the withdrawal to treat her family to dinner, activities and Easter gifts.”

Just before 8pm, a man wearing an N-95 mask walked into the restaurant and up a few stairs to where Ms Noem was eating dinner.

He sat near her table and moved his chair close to hers before sliding her purse toward him with his foot, according to surveillance footage viewed by law enforcement, the sources said.

Within minutes, the man had Ms Noem’s purse under his jacket and walked out of the restaurant.

At least two on-duty members of the US Secret Service were in the restaurant – between Ms Noem and the front doors – according to a source who witnessed the meal.

They said the restaurant wasn’t very busy at the time.

The purse also contained credit cards, blank cheques, her passport, driver’s licence and a set of keys.

It’s unclear whether Ms Noem was specifically targeted – and investigators are looking into whether the man knew who the purse belonged to.

When asked about the incident, Ms Noem said: “I don’t think I can comment on it yet. It’s not resolved yet.”

She said the Secret Service was aware but said she hadn’t spoken to agency personnel about what happened.

Ms Noem is a vocal supporter of Donald Trump’s policies of deporting undocumented immigrants and fortifying the US-Mexico border to slow illegal migration.

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Starmer and Zelenskyy discuss ending Russia’s ‘brutal war’ – as Putin says says he is open to bilateral talks on longer ceasefire

Published

4 hours ago

April 22, 2025

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Starmer and Zelenskyy discuss ending Russia's 'brutal war' - as Putin says says he is open to bilateral talks on longer ceasefire

Sir Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about ending Russia’s “brutal war” on Ukraine in their latest phone call on Easter Monday, as Vladimir Putin said he was open to bilateral talks.

The prime minister and Ukrainian president spoke on Monday afternoon, when Sir Keir “reiterated his iron-clad support for Ukraine“.

A Downing Street spokesperson added that the prime minister “said that the UK supports Ukraine’s calls for Russia to commit to a full ceasefire and that now is the time for Putin to show he is serious about ending his brutal war”.

“They discussed the latest developments on the Coalition of the Willing, and looked forward to further progress towards a just and lasting peace,” the spokesperson added.

Mr Zelenskyy later said on social media that he had a “good and detailed conversation” with the prime minister, and added Ukrainian officials will be in London for talks on ending the war with Russia on Wednesday.

“We are ready to move forward as constructively as possible, just as we have done before, to achieve an unconditional ceasefire, followed by the establishment of a real and lasting peace,” he added.

The Ukrainian president added that the 30-hour Easter truce, which both Kyiv and Moscow accuse the other of violating, showed that Russia “are prolonging the war”.

It comes as Mr Putin proposed bilateral talks with Ukraine on a longer ceasefire, which would mark the first time Russia held such talks since a failed peace deal soon after the invasion in 2022.

Speaking to a state TV reporter, the Russian president said: “We always have a positive attitude towards a truce, which is why we came up with such an initiative (the Easter truce), especially since we are talking about the bright Easter days.”

When asked about Mr Zelenskyy’s calls to extend the 30-hour ceasefire into a 30-day pause on civilian targets, he added: “This is all a subject for careful study, perhaps even bilaterally. We do not rule this out.”

The Ukrainian president said on Sunday evening that the Russian army had “violated Putin’s ceasefire more than 2,000 times” during the day, and accused Russia of “failing” to “uphold its own promise of a ceasefire”.

It also comes after Donald Trump has said he hopes Russia and Ukraine “will make a deal this week,” after he and his secretary of state Marco Rubio warned that the US will walk away from efforts to broker a peace deal unless there are clear signs of progress soon.

The US president said on his Truth Social platform that both countries would “start to do big business” with the US after ending the war.

Last month, Ukraine accepted Mr Trump’s proposal for a 30-day truce, but Mr Putin refused to back a full 30-day ceasefire, saying crucial issues of verification had not been sorted out.

He then said he would agree not to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. However, both sides have accused each other of breaking the moratorium on attacks on energy targets and at sea.

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Royal Navy’s flagship HMS Prince of Wales begins eight-month deployment

Published

4 hours ago

April 22, 2025

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Royal Navy's flagship HMS Prince of Wales begins eight-month deployment

The Royal Navy’s flagship HMS Prince of Wales is to begin an eight-month deployment to send a “powerful message” of the UK’s naval and air power.

Operation Highmast will take in joint exercises and visits with 40 countries across the Mediterranean, Middle East, southeast Asia, Japan and Australia.

The £3bn aircraft carrier is scheduled to sail from Portsmouth on Tuesday, accompanied from the navy base by Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless, to join a formation of warships, supply ships and aircraft off the coast of Cornwall.

HMS Prince of Wales, as the biggest class of ship in the Royal Navy, is leading Carrier Strike Group 25 (CSG25) with the involvement of around 2,500 personnel from the Royal Navy, 592 from the Royal Air Force and 900 from the Army.

Later during the deployment, as many as 4,500 military personnel will be involved in exercises in the Indo-Pacific region. Forces from Norway, Canada and Spain are among 12 other nations taking part in operations.

The CSG’s first task will be to join a NATO exercise off France testing aerial defences before the ships move on to the Mediterranean to work with an Italian-led carrier force and then head east via the Red Sea.

Other military assets include a contingent of up to 24 Royal Air Force F-35B Lightning fighter jets, Merlin Mk2 anti-submarine helicopters, Merlin Mk4 Commando and Wildcat helicopters along with T-150 Malloy and Puma drones.

Commodore James Blackmore, CSG commander, said the deployment would send a “powerful message” of the UK’s naval and air power.

He said: “It’s about supporting key trade routes that exist from the Indo-Pacific region to the UK, and supporting partners and allies in the region, showing that we are there as a capable and credible force should it be required.

“Operation Highmast will demonstrate credible deterrence and our support to NATO and the rules-based international order.”

Defence Secretary, John Healey MP, called it an “immensely complex operation” which sends “a powerful message of deterrence to any adversary”.

“This is a unique opportunity for the UK to operate in close coordination with our partners and allies in a deployment that not only shows our commitment to security and stability, but also provides an opportunity to bolster our own economy and boost British trade and exports,” he added.