Civilians on the front line in Sudan’s ‘forgotten’ war, UN warns

Report says taste unit has risen arsenic the civilian warfare passed two-year day successful the archetypal fractional of 2025.

Civilians are bearing the brunt arsenic Sudan‘s vicious civilian warfare extends and intensifies, the United Nations has warned.

The UN’s Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said successful a study released connected Friday that civilian deaths and taste unit roseate importantly arsenic the warfare passed its two-year day during the archetypal fractional of 2025. The aforesaid day, reports said that dozens were killed by paramilitaries successful an onslaught connected a mosque successful Darfur.

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The complaint of civilian deaths crossed Sudan has increased, the study says, with 3,384 civilians dying successful the archetypal six months of the year, a fig equalling 80 percent of the 4,238 civilian deaths passim the full of 2024.

“Sudan’s struggle is simply a forgotten one, and I anticipation that my office’s study puts the spotlight connected this disastrous concern wherever atrocity crimes, including warfare crimes, are being committed,” OHCHR main Volker Turk said successful a statement.

#Sudan situation deepens amid rising civilian casualties, worsening taste unit & humanitarian situation, finds @UNHumanRights report.

States indispensable look grim world of what has present evolved into a wider extortion situation & usage their power to extremity this conflict.

Many more… pic.twitter.com/c7OOcLUgdH

— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) September 19, 2025

“Several trends remained accordant during the archetypal fractional of 2025: a continued pervasiveness of intersexual violence, indiscriminate attacks, and the wide usage of retaliatory unit against civilians, peculiarly connected an taste basis, targeting individuals accused of ‘collaboration’ with opposing parties,” said the report.

New trends see the usage of drones, including successful attacks connected civilian sites and successful Sudan’s northbound and east, which until present person been mostly spared by the war, it said.

“The expanding ethnicisation of the conflict, which builds connected longstanding favoritism and inequalities, poses sedate risks for longer-term stableness and societal cohesion wrong the country,” said Turk.

“Many much lives volition beryllium mislaid without urgent enactment to support civilians and without the accelerated and unhindered transportation of humanitarian aid.”

Since April 2023, Sudan has been gripped by a brutal war betwixt the Sudanese service and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The struggle has killed tens of thousands and displaced immoderate 12 cardinal people. The UN has described it arsenic 1 of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with famine prevalent successful parts of Darfur and confederate Sudan.

The warfare has, successful effect, divided the country, with the service holding the north, eastbound and centre, portion the RSF dominates parts of the southbound and astir each of the occidental Darfur region.

Efforts by the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates to broker a ceasefire betwixt the warring parties person truthful acold failed.

The RSF killed 43 civilians successful a drone onslaught connected a mosque aboriginal connected Friday successful the besieged metropolis of el-Fasher, the superior of North Darfur, the Sudan Doctors’ Network NGO said successful a societal media post.

The NGO labelled the onslaught a “heinous crime” against unarmed civilians that showed the group’s “blatant disregard for humanitarian and spiritual values and planetary law”.

The Resistance Committees successful el-Fasher, a radical comprised of section citizens from the assemblage that includes quality rights activists, who way abuses, posted a video reportedly showing parts of the mosque reduced to rubble with respective bodies scattered connected the site, present filled with debris.

The aforesaid radical reported connected Thursday that the RSF had targeted respective unarmed civilians, including women and older adults, successful displacement shelters successful the city.

A time earlier, it said that dense artillery by the RSF had continuously targeted residential neighbourhoods.