Sudan army announces discovery of 465 bodies in mass grave located in Omdurman

Sudan’s army announced the discovery of 465 bodies in a mass grave located in the al-Saliha neighbourhood of Omdurman, adding the bodies are of citizens kidnaped and killed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The military said the bodies were held by the RSF inside a school in "horrific and inhumane conditions".

The announcement comes after the Sudanese armed forces confirmed that they regained full control of Khartoum state and cleared it of any presence of RSF militants, following the takeover of the presidential palace in late March.

In a statement issued by the office of the official spokesman for armed forces, the army said it is continuing its military operations against the RSF and what it described as "its agents and supporters from among the local, regional and international forces of evil".

The statement further said the army made several field victories. The official Sudanese News Agency, SUNA, reported.

The RSF has been vying for control of Sudan since 2023, resulting in thousands of death and a deep humanitarian crisis.

The discovery of the mass grave comes as a military source said the RSF targeted 'medical corps' in Omdurman, after it was announced that the army had seized weapons and ammunition in the al-Saliha neighbourhood.

The RSF also recently launched drone attacks on the Wad Nubawi neighbourhood, which is under army control. The army responded with intense artillery shelling of the remaining RSF positions in the neighbourhood, local media reported.

Earlier this year, Sudanese authorities discovered a mass grave inside the Qari military base in the Jelei area, north of Bahri, believed to contain the bodies of victims executed by the RSF.

According to reports and investigations at the time, hundreds of people are likely to have been buried under torture or starvation, north of Khartoum.

Satellite imagery and military information also indicate that before the outbreak of the war in April 2023, there were no mass graves in the area.

Clashes have escalated in recent days between the Sudanese army and the RSF, specifically west of the White Nile River and east of the North Kordofan state.

The war has killed tens of thousands, displaced 13 million and sparked what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

The conflict has carved up Sudan, with the army controlling the north, east, and centre, while the RSF dominates nearly all of Darfur and parts of the south.