Civilian death toll in Sudan soars in first half of 2025, says UN
September 20, 2025 (GENEVA) – Civilian killings in Sudan surged in the first six months of 2025 amid escalating ethnic violence and summary executions by warring parties, a United Nations human rights report said on Saturday.
The UN Human Rights Office documented at least 3,384 civilian deaths between Jan. 1 and June 30, a figure representing nearly 80% of the total for all of 2024. The actual number is likely “significantly higher,” the report said, with most deaths recorded in Darfur, Kordofan and Khartoum.
Attacks in densely populated areas using artillery and airstrikes accounted for 70% of the casualties. The report cited an April offensive by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on El Fasher that killed at least 527 people and March airstrikes by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on a market in North Darfur that killed at least 350.
The report also detailed a sharp rise in unlawful killings outside of direct combat, with at least 990 people summarily executed. It described reprisal killings of alleged collaborators in Khartoum by SAF and allied fighters, including children as young as 14. It also cited video footage of RSF fighters executing at least 30 males in Omdurman.
The report pointed to recurring patterns of conflict-related sexual violence being used as a weapon of war.
“Sudan’s conflict is a forgotten one, and I hope that my Office’s report puts the spotlight on this disastrous situation where atrocity crimes, including war crimes, are being committed,” UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said in a statement.
The conflict has created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with 24.6 million people facing severe food shortages. The report noted continued attacks on health facilities and aid convoys, with at least 30 humanitarian workers killed in the six-month period.
“This violence, in all of its vile forms, must end. Impunity continues to drive cycles of violations and abuses,” Türk said.
He warned that the “increasing ethnicisation of the conflict” posed grave risks to the country’s stability and called on international states to use their influence to end the fighting and ensure humanitarian access.