Independent human rights investigators have warned that the intensifying conflict in Sudan shows no signs of abating, citing the continued influx of weapons as a major driver of ongoing violence. In a report released Tuesday, June 17, 2025, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan linked the worsening humanitarian crisis to the escalating use of heavy weaponry in civilian areas and a dramatic increase in sexual violence.
The mission, established by the UN Human Rights Council in October 2023, described a dire situation in which hospitals remain under siege and humanitarian assistance is being deliberately obstructed by both warring factions. These include the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been locked in brutal conflict since April 2023 following a failed transition to civilian rule.
Fellow investigator Mona Rishmawi stated that testimonies gathered pointed to “both sides” continuing to commit war crimes.
In areas like El Fasher, civilians have reportedly been “assaulted, detained and killed,” and villages “attacked, burned and looted” by the RSF. From April 10 to 13, an RSF assault reportedly left over 100 civilians dead, while a SAF airstrike in Al Koma claimed at least 15 more lives.
In SAF-recaptured territories such as Khartoum, Gezira, and Sennar, the fact-finding mission documented numerous incidents of retaliatory violence between late 2024 and mid-2025.
Weaponized Aid and Mounting Civilian Suffering
Now entering its third year, the conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives, displaced over 13 million people, and subjected many others to sexual violence, looting, and the destruction of homes, markets, hospitals, and other infrastructure.
The mission highlighted how both parties have manipulated humanitarian access for strategic gain:
The SAF has imposed “bureaucratic restrictions, while the RSF has looted convoys and blocked aid entirely,”
the investigators noted, warning that the result has driven famine, “especially in Darfur.”
The mission also condemned a June 2 bombing of a UN aid convoy in Al Koma en route to El Fasher, which resulted in the deaths of five staff members. Additional attacks have further undermined relief efforts: the RSF reportedly shelled the Saudi Hospital in El Fasher at least 12 times and carried out a drone strike in May on Obeid International Hospital in North Kordofan, killing six civilians and disabling one of the last operational medical centers in the region.
“Such attacks are ‘crippling’ the delivery of aid in a lot of these communities,”
said Mona Rishmawi.
Surge in Sexual Violence in Displacement Camps
In their latest report to the Human Rights Council, investigators detailed a steep increase in sexual and gender-based violence. Women and girls have been subjected to rape, gang rape, abduction, sexual slavery, and forced marriage, predominantly within RSF-controlled displacement camps.
The report paints a sobering picture of a nation where civilians bear the brunt of a war marked by systematic violence, targeted attacks on aid infrastructure, and flagrant human rights abuses—with little indication of resolution on the horizon.
