30 bodies found on escape route for displaced in Darfur, activists say

Activists have reported the discovery of at least 30 civilian bodies along a key escape route from Al Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, Sudan. The victims were attempting to flee the city, which has been the scene of atrocities by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The bodies were found by villagers collecting firewood near Mount Sarati, approximately 5 kilometers east of Tawila. These individuals were part of a larger group trying to escape Al Fasher during its violent capture by the RSF last October. The route they took is infamously known as "the road of death" due to indiscriminate RSF gunfire against fleeing civilians.

Rebel forces from the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), who control a small area near Tawila, ordered the bodies to be buried in a mass grave due to their advanced state of decomposition. The discovery highlights the brutal realities faced by civilians caught in the conflict, which erupted between the Sudanese Army and the RSF in April 2023, displacing millions and creating a severe humanitarian crisis.