ALBAWABA - A new massacre has claimed the lives of 1,300 Sudanese people from the Massalit tribe, in the Western Darfur town of el-Geneina allegedly by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The horrific events in Ardamata, an area on the northeast outskirts of West Darfur's state capital el-Geneina took place from 2 to 6 November between RSF fighters and Sudanese Army soldiers near a military base.
Witnesses said the scenes were reminiscent of June when Arab militias and RSF fighters killed more than 500 people in what human rights organizations described as ethnic cleansing against the Massalit, a Black African tribe, the Middle East Eye reported.
A report by The Roots Organization for Human Rights and Violation Monitoring, a local Sudanese NGO, said that since the RSF took over facilities belonging to the Sudanese army's 15th Infantry Division, 1,300 have been reportedly killed in Darfur.
The organization said that more than 2,000 people were wounded and 500 detained as the RSF and its Arab militiamen allies brutally attacked civilians across Ardamata. Over 300 others are missing, it said.
The Roots Organization for Human Rights said in its report "practiced many atrocities against the Massalit community", including killing, raping women, looting, and torching homes.
The head of Roots Organization, Gamal Abdullah Khamis, said that the death toll in Ardamata is believed to have exceeded the 1,300 mark. A local media outlet has reported that the death toll is at 2,000, though other reports have placed the number of killed much lower.
"We believe that the number is much higher, as other crimes and killings are being committed against civilians," Khamis told Middle East Eye.
"Our report is based on 700 interviews and reports we got from our monitors in Chad. We have documented the names and the details of the 1,300 people that were killed up to now," Khamis added.
"However, we believe that the number is much higher, as other crimes and killings are being committed against civilians in the areas of Kulbos, Sirba, Azorny, Adara, and checkpoints on the road between Sudan and Chad".
