UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has warned that Sudan faces an imminent risk of another wave of atrocities, amid escalating fighting between the army, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North (SPLM-N) in both North and South Kordofan.
A statement from the High Commissioner’s office said the UN had documented the killing of at least 269 civilians as a result of airstrikes, artillery shelling, and summary executions following the RSF’s takeover of Bara city in North Kordofan. The statement noted that the actual civilian death toll is likely much higher.
The statement also highlighted reports of reprisal killings, arbitrary arrests, abductions, sexual violence, and forced recruitment, including of children, as well as the detention of civilians accused of collaborating with opposing parties. It warned of rising concern that violence could intensify further amid the spread of divisive hate speech.
Türk added, “It is truly shocking to see history repeating itself in Kordofan so soon after the horrific events in El Fasher. We must not allow Kordofan to meet the same fate.”
