America News Agency

Briefing the Human Rights Council, Türk said the events in El Fasher last October were a preventable disaster. In a statement posted on social media, he said: “After 18 months of siege, starvation and bombardment, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched an intense wave of violence. Thousands were killed within days, and tens of thousands fled in terror. Our shared duty is to hold those responsible to account and ensure this never happens again.”

The High Commissioner said he met survivors during visits to Sudan and that testimonies from more than 140 victims and witnesses were collected. Victims described “mass killings of civilians inside the city and while fleeing, executions, rape and other forms of sexual violence, torture, arbitrary detention, disappearances and abductions for ransom.”

Türk stressed that the RSF and its allies targeted civilians, women, children and specific ethnic groups. “Sexual violence was used systematically as a weapon of war; survivors reported cases of mass rape and sexual violence against women and girls,” he said, adding that civilians were abducted and ransoms demanded.

He noted that the violations in El Fasher amount to both war crimes and crimes against humanity under international criminal law, and called for stronger international action, expressing grave concern that similar abuses could recur in the Kordofan region.

Türk urged concrete measures to protect civilians in Sudan and reduce violence, including reminding parties of their legal obligations and stopping the flow of arms, ending attacks on civilian infrastructure, ensuring uninterrupted humanitarian access and halting arbitrary detentions.

He concluded by underscoring that the Sudanese people retain the spirit of the struggle for peace, justice and freedom, saying: “The people of Sudan hold the key to sustainable peace, and they will succeed.”