Name: Sudan’s people endure ‘horror and hell’ in war, says UN rights chief
Uploaded: 2026-01-19T07:46:05.156Z
Duration: 2 min 11 s
Description: United Nations rights chief Volker Turk visits Sudan and says people in country are going through ‘hell’.

United Nations rights chief Volker Turk visits Sudan and says people in country are going through ‘hell’.

Khartoum

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, concluded a four-day visit to Sudan, focusing on the plight of displaced people from al-Fashr and surrounding villages. During his visit, Turk heard testimonies from survivors who reported executions, mass killings, abductions, and systematic use of rape as a weapon of war, with civilians often prevented from fleeing conflict zones.

Turk called on both the Sudanese army and the paramilitary rapid support forces to allow safe humanitarian corridors for civilians and aid delivery. He also noted that the International Criminal Court is investigating crimes in Darfur and expressed hope that these investigations will expand to cover the rest of Sudan, aiming to secure justice for all victims.

Sudan’s people endure ‘horror and hell’ in war, says UN rights chief

The UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, held a press conference in the eastern city of Port Sudan on Sunday, concluding a four-day visit to the country, where he mostly focused on displaced people from the city of al-Fashr and surrounding villages. Now, the commissioner went to al-Dabba in the northern part of the country, where people fleeing from al-Fashr and surrounding areas sought refuge. Tens of thousands of refugees and displaced people have been arriving to al-Dabba, and the high commissioner said that he heard testimonies from survivors and from people fleeing about what they witnessed and what they experienced. Al Jazeera has also heard similar testimonies during its coverage of people, displaced people, who fled al-Fashr since late October. Now, the high commissioner said that he heard from survivors that they witnessed executions of civilians, mass killings of civilians, abductions of relatives and loved ones, and that the rapid support forces prevented civilians from leaving the city of al-Fashr following their takeover, either killing or detaining those civilians. The high commissioner also said that rape was being used as a weapon of war and that there is evidence that that was systematic and not individual crimes committed by individuals. He also spoke about the drone warfare being carried out by the paramilitary rapid support forces and the Sudanese army, saying that it affected civilian facilities. The commissioner called for both sides, both warring parties, to allow for safe corridors and for humanitarian corridors for those affected by the conflict to be able to flee areas that are unsafe and to get to safer zones, as well as for humanitarian assistance to be able to be delivered to those in need. He also called on both parties to protect civilians from the side effects of the conflict and said that the International Criminal Court will be investigating crimes that took place in the western region of Darfur, but that he hopes that that will encompass the rest of the country soon so that those affected by the fighting and by the conflict, by the rapid support forces or the Sudanese army or allied forces, will eventually get justice. Hiba Morgan, Al Jazeera, Khartoum.

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