United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, on Monday urged the international community to take immediate action to stop mass killings and other serious war crimes against civilians in Sudan.
Türk warned that the nearly three-year conflict showed no sign of ending and said the situation would only deteriorate without urgent intervention. He made the call while addressing Member States at a special session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, renewing his appeal for an expansion of the arms embargo beyond Darfur to cover the entire country.
Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, with rival forces — the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — battling for control of the country following the collapse of a power-sharing agreement.
The UN rights chief stressed that the continued flow of weapons was fuelling atrocities, citing survivor testimonies from El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, where RSF forces overran the city last October.
According to Türk, survivors from different locations provided consistent accounts of the mass killing of hundreds of civilians who had taken shelter at El Fasher University. He said evidence indicated that some victims were targeted based on non-Arab ethnicity, particularly members of the Zaghawa ethnic group.
He also described reports of bodies lining roads leading out of El Fasher, with one survivor comparing the scene to the Day of Judgment.
Türk said the UN’s findings aligned with the International Criminal Court’s assessment in January that war crimes and crimes against humanity had occurred in El Fasher during the RSF siege. He added that responsibility for the atrocities lay with the RSF and their allies.
The conflict has triggered a massive humanitarian crisis, affecting more than 30 million people, many of whom have suffered repeated displacement, famine and widespread sexual violence.
Türk warned that the spread of fighting from Darfur to central regions, combined with the use of advanced drone weaponry by both sides, could lead to further grave abuses. He noted that while SAF and allied forces recently broke sieges in Kadugli and Dilling, drone strikes continued to kill and injure civilians.
Civilians, he said, remain at risk of summary executions, sexual violence, arbitrary detention and family separation.
To curb the violence, the High Commissioner outlined measures aimed at supporting mediation efforts, including commitments to protect civilians, allow unrestricted humanitarian access, end arbitrary detention and halt attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Türk also highlighted damage caused by RSF attacks on the Merowe dam and hydroelectric power station, noting that repeated drone strikes had disrupted electricity and water supplies, severely affecting healthcare services across the country.