Khartoum Finds Bodies of Conscripts from 1998

Sudanese officials have announced the discovery of a mass grave southeast of the capital, Khartoum, suspected to contain the remains of conscripts who in 1998 tried escaping military service from a training camp. The al-Eifalon military camp was used for training new conscripts under the rule of former President Omar al-Bashir, who was removed by the army last year in the wake of months-long, pro-democracy protests. The poorly trained and equipped conscripts were sent into the bush fighting against the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). In 1998, a group of them were killed as they attempted to escape the base for the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday. The students were also angry that they had been denied the time to spend with their families during the holiday, according to the prosecutor.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA