Sudan Rights Watch Network is following with great concern and sensitivity the developments in military operations in North Darfur State on October 26-27. The Network expresses its strong and unequivocal condemnation of the impact of the horrific military escalation in and around El Fasher, the state capital, on civilians. This escalation has resulted in waves of targeting and widespread forced displacement of civilians, amid a complete collapse of the human rights and service systems and amid extremely dire humanitarian conditions.
Network’s field sources in the state indicate direct and unjustified targeting of residential neighborhoods and civilian objects, including markets and health centers. This constitutes a flagrant and systematic violation of international humanitarian law and amounts to war crimes under the Four Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols.
Network holds all warring parties in the region fully legally and morally responsible for protecting civilians and ensuring their safety. It affirms that any invocation of military circumstances to justify attacks on civilians or the destruction of public and private civilian property is completely unacceptable and violates human rights laws at the regional and international levels.
It also condemns in the strongest terms extrajudicial killings and the use of various forms of violence against detained civilians, considering them to amount to crimes against humanity, which are not subject to a statute of limitations and are not exempted by any subsequent political agreement or settlement.
Network warns that the continuation of these violations without accountability will lead to the complete collapse of the civil protection system in Darfur and open the door to further mass crimes and impunity. This requires urgent intervention by the international and regional community to activate investigation and accountability mechanisms and support efforts aimed at documenting crimes and violations to ensure justice for victims.
Sudan Rights Watch Network calls for an immediate cessation of military operations in and around El Fasher, the opening of safe humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians and the wounded, and the facilitation of unconditional humanitarian access, while ensuring the safety of humanitarian and medical personnel who face grave risks while performing their duties.
Network emphasizes that a true and just peace will not be achieved through the barrel of a gun or the logic of military supremacy, but rather through constructive dialogue based on justice, accountability, and effective equal citizenship. Ignoring the suffering of civilians and perpetuating the conflict will turn Darfur into a hotbed of comprehensive collapse that will be difficult to contain now and in the future.
In conclusion, the Network affirms that it will continue to monitor and document serious violations in the region and work with relevant regional and international mechanisms to ensure accountability for those responsible, establish the principles of justice and non-impunity, and preserve the dignity of the Sudanese people and their right to life, security, and peace.
Sudan Rights Watch Network
October 27, 2025