Sudan Civilians Tortured, Starved as Rights Probe Reveals Atrocities

An upturned vehicle lied in front of a building in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. (file)

A high-level independent rights probe into the brutal war in Sudan condemned numerous grave crimes committed by all combatants, citing evidence that civilians have been “deliberately targeted, displaced, and starved.”

After presenting the mandated report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday, Mohamed Chande Othman, chair of the Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan, stated that both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia had committed atrocity crimes.

Survivors from RSF detention sites described the facilities as “slaughterhouses.”

In one notorious RSF facility, dozens of detainees died between June and October after being tortured and denied food and medical care, the report said.

In SAF-run detention centres, civilians were subjected to torture, including electric shocks and sexualised abuse. Some cells were so overcrowded that prisoners had to sleep standing. Girls as young as 12 were forced into marriage, sometimes under threats to their families. Men and boys also faced sexualised torture, rooted in racism, prejudice, and impunity.

Co-author Mona Rishmawi said the violations resembled genocide, though the report describes them as crimes against humanity. “The effect of this is really the crime against humanity…of extermination,” she added.

The mission highlighted the humanitarian emergency caused by the war. In displacement camps such as Zamzam and Abu Shouk, children have died of hunger and dehydration, with some eating animal food.

Othman said the war is “destroying not only lives but also the means of survival,” as hospitals, markets, water and electricity systems, and humanitarian convoys have been systematically attacked. SAF airstrikes on markets, including El Koma and Tora, killed dozens to hundreds of civilians, while RSF forces also shelled markets, pillaged areas, and destroyed infrastructure.

RSF drone strikes on the Merowe Dam and water towers left communities without drinking water. One mother reported losing all four of her children to thirst while fleeing, according to Othman.