Bodies pulled out of well point to killings in areas recaptured from Sudan fighters

SHARG ELNIL, Sudan (Reuters) - In a part of Sudan recaptured by the army just weeks ago after nearly two years under the control of paramilitary fighters, Red Crescent volunteers in hazmat suits and masks pulled bodies out of a well and put them in black bags as residents looked on.

Most of the 15 victims had been shot in the head, but some had injuries suggesting they were thrown in the well alive, said Hisham Zain al-Abdin, director of forensic medicine for Khartoum state.

Other bodies have been found scattered on roadsides or hidden in basements of the district, known as Sharg Elnil. Some of the victims were tied up, said Zain al-Abdin.

"A lot of things happened here, and horrific scenes," he said.

Nearly two years into Sudan's Civil War, government forces have been advancing into territory long held by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which broke with the military authorities in April 2023.

The authorities say they are finding widespread evidence of killings in areas formerly under RSF control.

The RSF did not respond to a request for comment. In the past it has denied accusations of widespread abuses in areas it has controlled and said individual perpetrators would be brought to account. It has also accused the army of carrying out its own abuses, which the army also denies.

Hussein al-Faki, one of the residents who reported the bodies in the well to the authorities, said locals had tried to bury the victims, but the armed men controlling the area during RSF occupation "warned us not to go near them".

"If you got closer, they would shoot you. They scared us, so we ran away and left them," he said.

(Reporting by Eltayeb Siddig, writing by Nafisa Eltahir; Editing by Peter Graff)