The United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) warns that the civilian death toll in Sudan continues to mount as hostilities between the warring parties sharply escalate. The dire warning comes as Sudan remains in a dire humanitarian situation, with famine spreading, people starving to death and 30 million people - two-thirds of Sudan's population - in need of humanitarian assistance as a result of the war.
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a brutal conflict on April 15, 2023, that has created the world's largest humanitarian crisis and the world's largest and fastest growing displacement crisis. More than 12.5 million women, children and men have been uprooted by the war, which continues unabated.
āFrom 31 January to 5 February, the UN Human Rights Office has documented at least 275 civilian deaths as a result of artillery shelling, airstrikes and aerial drone attacks in the capital Khartoum, and in North Darfur, South Darfur, North Kordofan and South Kordofan,ā OHCHR spokesperson Seif Magango said in a statement on Friday.
In one of the worst series of attacks in recent days, on February 1, the RSF bombed a market in Omdurman, In Khartoum State, and attacked several residential areas there, reportedly killing at least 60 people and injuring more than 150, according to multiple sources.
Magango stressed that the latest casualty figures are three times higher than the already high number of civilian casualties recorded in the previous week. The sharp increase in civilian deaths underscored the dire risks civilians faced amid the "continued failure by the parties to the conflict and their allies to protect civilians," he said.
According to the spokesperson, at least 57 members of a local humanitarian volunteer network have been killed since the conflict began in April 2023.
āLocal humanitarian volunteers are also facing increased security threats. Partners on the ground have credible information that the names of some of these volunteers have been added to lists of alleged Rapid Support Forces collaborators,ā he said, adding that one person had reportedly received a death threat.
"Indiscriminate attacks, as well as threats and attacks directed against civilians, must cease immediately," Magango said.
āThe Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces - and their allied movements and militias - must respect their international law obligations and take concrete steps to protect civilians from harm, including humanitarian workers and human rights defenders.ā
Also on Friday, the international rights group Amnesty International warned that it had received alarming information, including reports of lists of potential targets, indicating that civilian activists, human rights defenders, medical personnel and humanitarian workers are at imminent risk of deadly reprisals as fighting escalates in the capital Khartoum and surrounding Khartoum State.
āAgain and again in Sudanās ongoing war, when the front lines change, civilians have faced brutal reprisal attacks. This has included summary executions of accused collaborators by whichever side gains the upper hand.ā said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty Internationalās Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.
āIn Khartoum State, the SAF, RSF and their allies must protect civilians, Leadership of both sides must immediately and publicly order their troops and allies not to commit reprisals, and to allow safe passage for civilians to leave.ā
Over the past few days and weeks, an SAF offensive has pushed RSF forces out of some parts of Khartoum, Khartoum Bahri and Omdurman, the three neighboring cities that are home to most of the population of Sudan's Khartoum State.
Fears of reprisals are high among residents of areas previously controlled by the RSF, following mass retaliatory killings by the SAF and allied forces in Wad Madani, the capital of Al Gezira State, after they captured the town from the RSF in early January.
Amnesty Internationalās Chagutah called on Sudan's international and regional partners, including the UN, the African Union and others, to exert pressure to ensure that both sides respect the rights of civilians and prisoners of war.
The upsurge in fighting is also impacting numerous other Sudanese states, including North Darfur, South Darfur, North Kordofan, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.
On Thursday, the Humanitarian Coordinator in the country, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, warned that South Kordofan and Blue Nile states are on the brink of catastrophe as violence there continues to escalate at an alarming rate.
āThe latest outbreak of hostilities in Kadugli in South Kordofan has reportedly claimed at least 80 civilian lives and left scores of people injured,ā she said.
In a statement, Nkweta-Salami condemned the reported use of women and children as human In a statement, Nkweta-Salami condemned the reported use of women and children as human shields in Kadugli, as well as the obstruction of humanitarian aid and the detention of civilians, including children.
The western Nuba Mountains, which extend into South Kordofan and West Kordofan states, are among the areas where famine has been declared by the Famine Review Committee (FRC) of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).
āThe worsening insecurity threatens to plunge both states into an even deeper crisis. For too long, civilians have been isolated from life-saving assistance and basic services due to a severe lack of medical supplies, limited humanitarian access and the ongoing conflict,ā the Humanitarian Coordinator said.
Nkweta-Salami stressed that humanitarian needs also remain critical in Blue Nile State, amid reports of mass mobilizations.
āIf the fighting continues, more people will be left without access to vital aid, human suffering will deepen, and more lives will be lost,ā Nkweta-Salami said.
She called on all parties to the conflict in Sudan to de-escalate tensions, protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and allow humanitarian agencies safe and unhindered access to those in desperate need.
Earlier this week, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it was deeply concerned by the impact of the ongoing conflict on civilians and health facilities in Khartoum State. Al Naw Hospital, reportedly the only functioning hospital in and around Omdurman, was under severe strain, OCHA said, adding that there were critical shortages of medicines and food.
The UN humanitarian office also said it remained extremely concerned about the continuing mass displacement of civilians from El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State, due to escalating violence since April last year. Over the past ten months, more than 600,000 women, children and men have fled El Fasher and other locations in North Darfur in search of safety.
In recent weeks, attacks have been reported across much of El Fasher and surrounding areas, including the Abu Shouk camp for displaced persons, the Saudi Hospital, and the western areas of the town. Famine conditions were confirmed in Abu Shouk camp in December 2024 and are expected to persist through May this year.
Approximately 24.6 million people - nearly half of the Sudanese population - are facing acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or worse). The rapid deterioration of food security in Sudan has left at least 638,000 people in catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5), while 8.1 million people are estimated to be in emergency levels of hunger (IPC Phase 4).
In December, the IPC Famine Review Committee identified famine in at least five areas, four months after famine was first confirmed in the Zamzam camp for displaced people in Sudan's North Darfur state.
According to the FRC, an additional 17 areas are at risk of famine. Moreover, areas of intense conflict, including parts of Khartoum and Al Gezira states, may already be experiencing famine conditions (IPC Phase 5). However, a lack of reliable or recent data due to insecurity makes it impossible to confirm whether this is the case.
OCHA said this week it was gravely concerned about rising cases of severe malnutrition in Khartoum State, where local reports indicate more than 70 hunger-related deaths, mostly among children. In January alone, more than 1,100 cases of severe malnutrition were recorded in three districts of Omdurman, underscoring the urgent need for food distributions and medical assistance.
Further information
Full text: Sudan: Rising civilian death toll, UN Human Rights Office, spokesperson Seif Magango, statement, released February 7, 2025
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/02/sudan-rising-civilian-death-toll
Full text: Sudan: Civilians at imminent risk of reprisal attacks as fighting rages in Khartoum and Darfur, Amnesty International, press release, published February 7, 2025
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/02/civilian-activists-human-rights-defenders-medical-workers-and-humanitarian-workers-are-at-imminent-risk-of-deadly-reprisal-attacks/
Full text: Protect civilians trapped in crisis in South Kordofan and Blue Nile - Statement by the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, statement, released February 6, 2025
https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/protect-civilians-trapped-crisis-south-kordofan-and-blue-nile-statement-united-nations-resident-and-humanitarian-coordinator-sudan-clementine-nkweta-salami