Sudan: Both Warring Sides in Sudan Singled out in UN Report, With Drones an Increasing Worry

Geneva — Sudan’s warring parties are increasingly using arbitrary detention, torture and enforced disappearance to control the country’s embattled population, the UN said on Monday, and the increased use of drones is a growing concern.

Fighting has intensified as the conflict persists into its fourth year, and the catastrophe intensifies, the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan warned at a hearing of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

“Civilians continue to bear the overwhelming burden of this conflict,” said the Mission’s Chair, Mohamed Chande Othman.

“They are subjected not only to direct attacks and violence but also to a growing system of repression, arbitrary detention and fear that has penetrated every aspect of life.”

Othman said unless the fighting is halted, the patterns will further erode protection and deepen Sudan's human rights catastrophe.”

The continuing armed conflict began on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the group calling itself the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with other warring parties involved, according to the United Nations.

The UN mission said it has documented a systematic pattern of mass and arbitrary detention by both the SAF and the RSF targeting individuals perceived to be affiliated with, or sympathetic to, the opposing side.

Individuals are routinely detained by both parties on allegations of collaboration, often under harsh conditions, and without legal basis, due process guarantees, or judicial oversight, said the commission.

People attempting to travel between areas controlled by different parties face risks, the report said.

Many are detained at checkpoints, ill-treated, or accused of supporting the opposing side.

Those targeted include journalists, human rights defenders, humanitarian workers, political activists, religious and community leaders, civil society actors, traders, ordinary civilians and family members of combatants said the report.

The UK Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Kumar Iyer, during the hearing, expressed alarm at the grave violations and unabated abuses of human rights.

“The expanding use of drones is intensifying humanitarian need, with over 880 civilians reportedly killed by drone strikes this year alone,” said the UK envoy.

“We deplore the continued targeting of civilian infrastructure, including schools, markets, and hospitals.”

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