UN rights council condemns attacks on civilians in Sudan, calls for truce

The United Nations Human Rights Council has condemned drone strikes and other attacks on civilians in Sudan, warning warring parties that there is “no military solution to the crisis” in the country.

The statement on Monday came as the World Food Programme said an air attack had hit a truck carrying food supplies in North Kordofan, killing one person.

In Geneva, the 47-member council adopted a resolution extending the mandate of its independent international fact-finding mission for Sudan by a vote of 28 to 10, with nine abstentions.

Sudan urged member states to reject the measure, stating the council had failed to take its reservations into account.

The war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which began in April 2023, has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than 13 million, according to estimates cited by human rights groups.

The resolution demanded “an immediate and complete ceasefire by all parties, without preconditions”, along with an independent monitoring mechanism and the restoration of basic infrastructure.

It condemned widespread violations of international humanitarian law by both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF, citing “indiscriminate attacks against civilians” and “indiscriminate aerial bombardments and drone strikes resulting in civilian deaths and the destruction of critical infrastructure”, including schools and hospitals.

Both sides have sharply increased their use of drones in recent months. UN figures show that drone strikes killed more than 1,100 people in the first five months of the year alone.

The council also condemned outside interference in the war, warning that illicit financial networks, illegal arms transfers and foreign mercenaries continue to fuel the fighting.

The fact-finding mission, which gathers evidence of abuses by both sides, concluded in February that the RSF’s siege and capture of the North Darfur capital, el-Fasher, bore “the hallmarks of genocide”.

As the last military stronghold in Darfur to fall after a months-long siege, el-Fasher saw civilians systematically deprived of food and medicine before facing mass summary executions, investigators found.

They documented ethnic killings aimed mainly at non-Arab groups, widespread sexual violence and the destruction of medical facilities.

Separately, the WFP said in a statement that the airstrike that hit its convoy travelling between Dilling and Kadugli in South Kordofan killed one driver and damaging life-saving food.

The agency stressed that the vehicles were clearly marked with official humanitarian logos. The attack took place on Saturday and came just 24 hours after another WFP vehicle detonated an explosive device in Dilling following a food distribution run, it said.

“Humanitarian workers and aid assets are not targets,” the WFP said, demanding a transparent probe to hold perpetrators accountable under international law.