UN Warns Sudan War Genocidal Violence Spreading Risk

The UN Human Rights Council was warned Thursday that genocidal violence in Sudan’s nearly three-year war risks spreading, as killings, rape and systematic attacks on civilians surge with near-total impunity.

The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) dominated the Council’s first session of the year in Geneva. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk described a “chronicle of cruelty,” presenting data showing a dramatic escalation in violations by all parties. According to the Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR), civilian killings more than doubled and a half in 2025 compared to 2024, with at least 11,300 civilians killed last year—nearly triple the 2024 figure—and thousands more missing or unidentified.

Türk stated that both the RSF and SAF continue to use explosive weapons in densely populated areas without warning, displaying “utter disregard for human life.” Critical infrastructure including schools, hospitals, markets and religious sites have been attacked. He specifically condemned the “weaponisation” of women’s bodies, reporting over 500 identified victims of sexual violence in 2025, including rape, gang rape, sexual torture and slavery, some resulting in death.

The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan, established by the Council in October 2023, echoed these alarms. Mission Chair Mohamed Chande Othman detailed the RSF’s capture of the Zamzam camp in North Darfur in April and its subsequent offensive in El Fasher, the state capital, which he said “unleashed carnage” amounting to war crimes and possible crimes against humanity. He highlighted the massacre at El-Saudi hospital, where more than 460 people, including patients and medical staff, were killed. Videos circulated by perpetrators show executions accompanied by ethnic slurs targeting the Zaghawa and Fur communities, such as threats to “kill them all” and “eliminate anything black from Darfur.”

Othman stated the situation in El Fasher “exhibits clear hallmarks of genocide” by the RSF, citing mass killings, infliction of serious bodily and mental harm, and deliberate infliction of conditions to destroy the groups in part. He warned that these patterns of “heinous, ruthless brutality” are now shifting toward the Kordofan region, where drone strikes and blockades—including on humanitarian aid—by both the RSF and SAF have killed or injured nearly 600 civilians since January.

Both officials stressed that without urgent protective measures and credible accountability, the risk of further genocidal violence remains “grave and ongoing.” The fact-finding mission warned the violence could spread beyond Darfur. The Council’s hearing underscores mounting international concern over the conflict’s descent into widespread atrocities with minimal consequences for perpetrators.