Civilian deaths in Sudan’s ongoing conflict have risen sharply this year, with documented killings more than doubling compared with 2024, according to the United Nations’ top human rights official.
Addressing the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday, High Commissioner Volker Türk said his office had recorded a two-and-a-half-fold increase in civilian deaths in 2025. He added that thousands more people are either unaccounted for or remain unidentified amid the chaos of the war.
Sudan has been gripped by fighting since April 2023, when clashes erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The conflict has displaced around 11 million people and created one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. No comprehensive official death toll has been released, though estimates suggest tens of thousands have been killed.
Türk condemned what he described as widespread and systematic abuses by both sides, including summary executions, arbitrary detentions and sexual violence. He singled out attacks attributed to the RSF in North Darfur, including assaults on the Zamzam displacement camp in April and renewed violence in El-Fasher later in the year. El-Fasher had been the army’s last major stronghold in the region before it fell.
The rights chief also warned of a significant rise in sexual crimes, with more than 500 cases documented this year alone. He said rape, gang rape and other forms of sexual violence were being used to terrorise communities.
Foreign ministers from Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom said violence in El-Fasher bore the characteristics of war crimes and crimes against humanity. They announced plans to coordinate efforts aimed at preventing further atrocities and supporting accountability initiatives.
Fighting has since expanded into neighbouring Kordofan, where drone strikes have reportedly killed dozens of civilians in single incidents. Since January, nearly 600 civilians have been killed or injured in drone attacks in South Kordofan and other areas, according to the UN human rights office. Some of the strikes have targeted humanitarian convoys.
Denise Brown, the UN’s resident and humanitarian coordinator for Sudan, said aid access to cities such as Kadugli and Dilling in South Kordofan had been severely restricted for months due to siege conditions and insecurity. She described the challenges of delivering supplies and protecting staff in active conflict zones.
Famine was declared in parts of North Darfur and South Kordofan late last year following a UN-backed assessment, with warnings that conditions in other areas are deteriorating.
Türk also raised concerns about the increasing use of advanced weaponry, including long-range drones, in densely populated urban centres. He said the deployment of such weapons without adequate warning had intensified risks to civilians far from frontline areas.
The conflict has drawn in regional and international actors. The United Arab Emirates has faced accusations of providing support to the RSF, which it denies. Meanwhile, Egypt, Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have been described as backing Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
Efforts to broker a ceasefire have repeatedly faltered. Burhan recently vowed to continue military operations and has signalled plans to strengthen the army’s technological capabilities. Negotiations facilitated by the United States, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt have stalled, with disagreements over mediation roles and external involvement.
Türk called for renewed diplomatic engagement and urgent pressure to secure a humanitarian pause leading to a lasting ceasefire. Without it, he warned, civilian suffering is likely to intensify further in a conflict that has already devastated much of the country.
