A United Nations fact-finding mission released a damning report documenting widespread atrocities against civilians by all parties in Sudan’s ongoing war, with investigators describing detention facilities as “slaughterhouses” where torture and extrajudicial killings have become routine.
The independent Human Rights Council investigation found evidence that both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have systematically targeted, displaced and starved civilian populations since fighting erupted in April 2023.
Mohamed Chande Othman, who chairs the fact-finding mission, told reporters in Geneva that survivors from RSF detention sites characterised the facilities as slaughterhouses where dozens of detainees died between June and October 2025 after being tortured and denied food and medical care.
The report documented equally severe abuses in SAF-run facilities, where “civilians were subjected to torture, including electric shock, sexualized abuse, and they were held in cells so overcrowded that some prisoners had to sleep standing,” Othman said.
Children Forced Into Marriage
The investigation uncovered evidence of girls as young as 12 being forced into marriage, “sometimes under the threat of death to their families.” The report also documented widespread sexual violence against men and boys, describing such acts as “rooted in racism, prejudice and impunity” that “devastate entire communities.”
Report co-author Mona Rishmawi emphasised the consequences of continued impunity, stating: “Everybody knows you cannot rape, you cannot loot, you cannot destroy property. You cannot starve people… But if there is no accountability, of course, they will continue doing it.”
Systematic Starvation Campaign
While stopping short of using the term genocide, investigators described violations that amount to crimes against humanity, including extermination through deliberate starvation tactics.
“You kill, [you provide] no food, no water, you don’t allow food production. You don’t allow access to food, to markets… and you don’t allow access to humanitarian aid,” Rishmawi explained. “So, what you do want is to kill the population, so it’s very clear.”
The mission documented systematic attacks on civilian infrastructure essential for survival. SAF airstrikes on El Koma market in October 2024 killed at least 45 civilians, while strikes on Kabkabiya market killed more than 100. In March 2025, SAF bombed the Tora market during peak hours, killing and injuring hundreds.
RSF forces have similarly targeted civilian infrastructure, shelling markets, pillaging entire areas and destroying water infrastructure, including strikes on the Merowe Dam and water towers.
Humanitarian Catastrophe
Expert mission member Joy Ngozi Ezeilo described conditions in displacement camps where “witnesses describe children dying of hunger and dehydration in the streets, including people eating animal food.”
One testimony highlighted in the report came from a mother who told investigators she lost all four of her children to thirst while fleeing the violence.
The fact-finding mission was established by the Human Rights Council in October 2023 to investigate human rights violations in Sudan’s conflict. The three-member panel consists of independent human rights experts not employed by the United Nations.
The war in Sudan has created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, displacing millions of civilians and causing widespread famine conditions across multiple regions of the country.
