Internally displaced Sudanese children play outside while residing in the Hasahisa secondary school on July 10, 2023, transformed to house people fleeing violence in the war-torn country. (PHOTO / AFP)

KHARTOUM - At least 87 people allegedly killed by Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allies were uncovered from a mass grave outside West Darfur State's capital El-Geneinaa, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a press release Thursday.

The UN office said 87 ethnic Masalit and others were killed around June 13-21 in El-Geneina's Al-Madaress and Al-Jamarek districts, and included many victims of the violence that followed the killing of Khamis Abbaker, governor of West Darfur, on June 14 under RSF custody.

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Among the uncovered bodies were seven women and seven children, and people who died from untreated injuries, the UN office said in the press release, citing what it called credible information.

On Tuesday, data from the International Organization for Migration showed that the number of people uprooted by a conflict between military factions in Sudan that erupted nearly three months ago has surpassed 3 million

The UN office claimed that locals were forced to bury them in a mass grave, denying them a decent burial.

In the statement, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk called on the RSF and other parties to the Sudan conflict to allow and facilitate prompt searches for the dead, their collection and evacuation without distinction, including based on ethnic background.

On Tuesday, data from the International Organization for Migration showed that the number of people uprooted by a conflict between military factions in Sudan that erupted nearly three months ago has surpassed 3 million.

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More than 2.4 million people have been displaced internally and more than 730,000 have crossed into neighboring countries. Most have fled either from the capital Khartoum, the focus of the power struggle between the army and the RSF that broke out on April 15, or from Darfur, where ethnically-targeted violence has surged.

UN officials have said Sudan could slide into civil war, as regional and international mediation efforts have failed.

"This war won't end shortly," said United Nations special envoy Volker Perthes, speaking in Belgium. Several ceasefire agreements have been violated and "have basically been used by the parties to reposition themselves," he said.

With Reuters inputs