The civil war in Sudan, which started on 15 April 2023, has seen widespread war crimes committed by both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with the RSF being singled out by Human Rights Watch, and the United Kingdom and United States governments for committing genocide, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.
The conflict has been marked by heavy indiscriminate shelling, gunfire, and airstrikes on markets and populated residential neighbourhoods, causing a high number of fatalities. Hospitals were targeted during aerial bombings and artillery fire, and medical supplies were looted. These attacks severely impacted Sudan's healthcare system, disrupting medical services and leaving the majority of the hospitals in conflict-affected states out of service. The UN declared Sudan the most dangerous country for humanitarian workers after South Sudan.
In Geneina, West Darfur, the RSF and Arab militias killed more than 15,000 non-Arab people. On 22 July, a Masalit tribal leader claimed that more than 10,000 people had been killed in West Darfur alone, and that 80% of Geneina's residents had fled. Massacres against the Masalit were recorded in towns such as Tawila, Sirba, Ardamata, Kutum, and Misterei, while a mass grave was discovered around Geneina. The UK and US governments, witnesses, and other observers described the violence in the region as tantamount to ethnic cleansing or even genocide, with non-Arab groups such as the Masalit being the primary victims. The RSF and Arab militias are also accused of widespread robberies, looting food meant to feed 4.4 million people, and sexual violence against Sudanese and foreign women, particularly Masalit and non-Arab women. NGOs estimate that the actual figure of sexual violence victims could be as high as 4,400. In March 2024, UNICEF reported that armed men were raping and sexually assaulting children as young as one year old. The UN was urged to start an inquiry, and governments were encouraged to allocate resources to aid survivors.
The RSF and Arab militias in Sudan are also accused of targeted torture and killings of intellectuals, politicians, professionals, and tribal leaders. Notable victims include Adam Zakaria Is'haq, a physician and human rights advocate, and Khamis Abakar, the governor of West Darfur, who was kidnapped, tortured, and executed. The RSF also targeted the families of their opponents, such as Mustafa Tambour's family. The SAF and RSF are accused of threatening, attacking, and killing journalists and activists during the conflict. The Sudanese Journalists Syndicate documented over 40 violations in May 2023 alone. Several journalists were injured or killed, and 13 newspapers ceased operations. Humanitarian workers were also targeted, with 18 killed and many others detained.
The International Criminal Court and Amnesty International are investigating war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the war. The SAF accused the RSF of perpetrating these crimes. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (SAF commander) established a committee to investigate these allegations. Several countries proposed a motion to the UN Human Rights Council for an investigation into the atrocities. The UN Human Rights Council voted to adopt a resolution creating a fact-finding committee on these crimes. Human Rights Watch and the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan have called for measures to protect civilians.
On 11 July 2025, the International Criminal Court (ICC) reported to the United Nations Security Council that war crimes and crimes against humanity are currently being committed in Sudan's Darfur region, including a severe humanitarian crisis with over 30 million people in need, amid the ongoing conflict.
On 25 January 2026, WHO published a report on the situation in terms of public health, stating that around 33 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, with 21 million more facing a food insecurity.
Background and casualties
On 12 June 2023, the Sudan Doctors Syndicate said at least 959 civilians had been killed and 4,750 others were injured. On 15 August, the UN said that at least 435 children had been killed in the conflict. Doctors on the ground warned that stated figures do not include all casualties as people could not reach hospitals due to difficulties in movement. A spokesperson for the Sudanese Red Crescent was quoted as saying that the number of casualties "was not small".
According to BBC, The Guardian, CNN, PBS NewsHour, and Amnesty International widespread war crimes were committed in Sudan by both sides.
Massacres
Hospital attacks
In Sudan's conflict, both sides have potentially committed war crimes against medical facilities and staff, as evidenced by BBC News Arabic. Aerial bombings and artillery fire targeted hospitals while patients were inside, and medical personnel were singled out for attacks, all constituting potential war crimes. Most hospitals in Khartoum closed due to weeks of fighting, impacting civilians' access to healthcare. Satellite data, extensive user-generated content analysis, and doctor testimonies substantiate the devastating effects on healthcare facilities.
The World Health Organization condemned these assaults as clear violations of international humanitarian law and demanded an immediate halt. The conflict led to attacks on hospitals such as Ibn Sina and East Nile, potentially meeting criteria for war crimes. RSF fighters surrounded the East Nile hospital and reportedly forced patient evacuations.
There were incidents of airstrikes without warnings resulting in civilian deaths. Several hospitals were commandeered by opposing fighters, compromising civilian treatment. Threats to doctors from both sides, including public accusations and intimidation, highlight the targeting of medical professionals. International medical organisations, including Sudan's Doctors for Human Rights, have documented these atrocities as potential crimes against humanity and war crimes, aiming to present evidence to international or national judicial authorities for accountability.
For example, on 18 April 2023, reporters said that armed personnel had entered several hospitals in Khartoum. On 25 April, despite the ceasefire, heavy artillery fire was reported in Omdurman, where a dozen people were injured after a hospital was hit. On 13 May, the SAF accused the RSF of attacking two hospitals in Khartoum. On 14 May, eyewitnesses in Geneina said Arab militias entered a hospital and massacred 12 non-Arab patients. On 15 May, The Sharq el-Nil Hospital in Khartoum was reported to have been hit by an air strike. On 22 May, fighting was reported around the Aliyaa military hospital in Omdurman and south of the city near the border with White Nile State, near a small airport.
On 1 July 2023, the Sudanese Doctors Union accused the RSF of raiding the Shuhada hospital and killing a staff member. The RSF denied the accusation. On 15 July, five people were killed and 22 others were injured in a drone strike on the Aliya hospital in Omdurman blamed on the RSF. On 16 July, the RSF was accused of attacking the Aliya hospital for a second day with drones. On 20 July, an 18-member team of Médecins Sans Frontières was attacked while transporting supplies to the Turkish Hospital in south Khartoum. On 1 August, the Doctors' Hospital, northwest of Khartoum Airport, partially collapsed due to shelling, with the RSF accusing the SAF of targeting the facility in airstrikes. On 9 October, three people were killed by SAF shelling on the Al-Nau hospital in Omdurman, and 20 people were killed by RSF shelling at a clinic attached to a mosque in the Samarab neighbourhood of Khartoum Bahri.
These attacks also severely impacting the country's healthcare system, and disrupted medical services, jeopardising the operation of remaining hospitals and clinics in Khartoum. Over 46 verified assaults on health workers and facilities were documented, resulting in fatalities and injuries. On 19 September 2023, the WHO also said that between 70 and 80% of hospitals in conflict-affected states were out of service, either for being closed or destroyed.
Indiscriminate shelling
From the start of the war since 15 April, heavy shelling and gunfire was reported in Khartoum, Khartoum Bahri and Omdurman as the RSF accused the SAF of staging a "sweeping attack" that continued through April, and May. During negotiations in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 12 May, there was no agreement towards a cessation of hostilities as air strikes and shelling in Khartoum. During May, two people were reported to have been killed in an SAF airstrike in Khartoum, and the Sudanese Doctors' Union said that at least 18 people were killed and more than 100 others were wounded after rockets hit a market in Mayo, south of Khartoum.
In June 2023, the SAF continuing the airstrikes and indiscriminate shelling of RSF positions in Khartoum and El-Obeid, as the SAF killed 10 students from the Democratic Republic of Congo in the International University of Africa in Khartoum. 17 people were killed by RSF shelling in the El Jamarik neighbourhood of Geneina.
During July 2023, the SAF airstrikes and shelling killed at least 16 people in Ombadda, Omdurman, between 22 and 31 people in Dar es Salaam district of Omdurman, at least 30 civilians in Nyala, and 18 civilians in Omdurman. The month also witnessed SAF's airstrikes of villages in the north of Gezira state, and 16 civilians and four children were killed during exchanges of rocket fire between the SAF and the RSF in Nyala and El Remeila neighbourhood, respectively. A child was killed and three others were injured by SPLM-N (al-Hilu) shelling of SAF positions in Kadugli.
In July 2023, the SAF airstrikes and shelling killed at least 29 people in Nyala with 24 people killed in a market, and 7 civilians near the central market in south Khartoum. At least 40 people were killed during heavy shelling between the SAF and the RSF in civilian areas of Nyala. Thirty of them died after a missile hit the Teiba Bridge where they had been hiding underneath. Six others were killed at a funeral. The SPLM-N (al-Hilu) attacked SAF positions in Dalami, South Kordofan, injuring two civilians from shelling. It also claimed that the RSF shelled the nearby Al-Salama area with mortar fire during their retreat, killing between six and ten civilians according to conflicting sources.
During September 2023, the SAF airstrikes and shelling killed at least 20 civilians, including two children, in Kalakla al-Qubba, Khartoum, 32 in Ombada, Omdurman, 51 in Gouro market in Khartoum, 43 in another market in Khartoum, 17 in Omdurman, 25 in Khartoum North, and 45 in Nyala. People were also killed by indiscriminate shelling by the RSF, including at least 104 people who were killed throughout Khartoum. At least 30 of them were killed in the Hilet Kouko cattle market near Sharg El Nil, while ten people were killed and 11 others were injured in the Aljarafa area in the north of Omdurman. More civilians were killed during clashes between the SAF and RSF, with 25 people killed in Omdurman, one in El-Odeya, West Kordofan, and 30 in El Fasher.
During October 2023, the RSF shelling killed at least 10 people in the El Jarafa neighbourhood of Omdurman, 20 people at a clinic attached to a mosque in the Samarab neighbourhood of Khartoum Bahri, and 190 people following two days of RSF artillery shelling of SAF air defence positions on Jebel Awlia, Khartoum. The RSF also shelled the Al-Takrir neighborhood near El-Fasher. The RSF shelling killed 11 in the Karari neighbourhood of Omdurman, 3 people at the Al-Nau hospital in Omdurman, and 3 people at the El Khamees Market in Zalingei.
In November 2023, at least 15 people were killed after the RSF shelled the Zaglouna market in Karari, Omdurman, and 12 people were killed by shelling in Karari, Omdurman.