Mass grave found in South Darfur

Authorities have uncovered a mass grave with more than 30 bodies in Al Sunta locality in South Darfur. The governor Bushara Al Jazam has been accused of using the grave to bury the bodies of people that have mysteriously disappeared over the years. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that the discovery came following the disappearance of Ibrahim Sinin, assistant to the governor on January 28 2011. Citizens were becoming suspicious after citizens went missing and began to demonstrate to demand to know what was happening in the area. Sources said a man stepped forward and told them that Bushara Al Jazam had asked him to bury the body for a sum of money. On January 4 2012, residents were taken to the site by the man to dig up the grave to look for Ibrahim Sinin, but found a further 30 bodies buried in a mass grave. Witnesses said that they believed these were the bodies of the people who had disappeared over the years, killed by the governor. Residents of Al Sunta reported the discovery to authorities in Nyala and a fact finding team was sent to investigate. After the investigation, the governor was promptly arrested, stripped of his immunity and placed in a prison belonging to Abu Tira (central reserve forces). Witnesses said a team from Nyala visited the site again yesterday with a team of doctors, tasked to help to try to identify the bodies, which were now composed mainly of skeletons. The governor was part of a rebel group that fought for power in the region. They signed a peace agreement with the government last year and he was appointed Al Sunta’s governor.