JAKARTA - Civilian deaths in the Sudanese war have more than doubled in 2025 compared to the previous year, the U.N. human rights chief said on Thursday, warning of thousands of other unidentified or still missing victims.
Sudan has been embroiled in conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023 that has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 11 million people, and triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
"This war is horrible. It is bloody and senseless," Volker Turk told the UN Human Rights Council, blaming both warring parties, who have so far rejected all forms of humanitarian ceasefires, launching Al Arabiya with AFP (26/2).
He also blamed foreign sponsors for funding what he called a "high-tech" conflict.
"In 2025, my office's documentation shows an increase of more than two and a half times in the killing of civilians compared to the previous year. Thousands of people are still missing or unidentified," said Turk.
Turk also condemned what he called the "heinous and merciless" brutality committed, including sexual violence, extrajudicial executions, and arbitrary detention.
Turk further highlighted the "massacre" carried out by the RSF during the attack on the Zamzam refugee camp in April, and again in October in al-Fashir, which is the last foothold of the army in western Darfur.
Sexual violence, including rape, gang rape, sexual torture, and slavery, has also increased, said Turk, with more than 500 documented victims in 2025.
"The bodies of Sudanese women and girls have been used as a weapon to terrorize the community," Turk said.
He added that he was "very worried that this crime will be repeated."
Since the fall of al-Fashir, fighting has spread deeper into neighboring Kordofan, where drone strikes have killed scores at a time.
Turk said both the army and the RSF continued to use "explosive weapons in densely populated areas, often without warning, showing a total disregard for human life."
Turk also highlighted the "increased use of sophisticated long-range drones," which have "expanded the damage to civilians in areas far from the previously peaceful front lines."
Since January, an increase in drone attacks in southern Kordofan and surrounding areas has "killed or injured nearly 600 civilians," Turk said, including in attacks on humanitarian aid convoys.
Turk expressed concern over "the increasing militarization of society," including the recruitment of children and young people into the fighting.
He urged "diplomatic and political pressure" to push the parties concerned towards a humanitarian ceasefire leading to a permanent ceasefire.
It is known that efforts to secure a ceasefire have repeatedly failed.
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