UN human rights chief ‘appalled by summary executions’ as Sudan abuses escalate

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed shock yesterday at reports of widespread summary executions in Khartoum since its recapture by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) last month.

In a statement by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Türk said, “I am utterly appalled” by the executions and urged SAF commanders to “take immediate measures to put an end to arbitrary deprivation of life,” calling extrajudicial killings a grave violation of international law.

He emphasised that both individual perpetrators and those with command responsibility must be held accountable.

The UN has reviewed videos showing armed men executing civilians in public, some accused of supporting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

These acts are attributed to SAF, State Security, and SAF-affiliated militias. In *Khartoum’s Southern Belt area alone, at least 20 civilians, including a woman, were reportedly killed, according to the UN.

The UN also documented rising hate speech, particularly targeting ethnic communities from Darfur and Kordofan, with lists of suspected RSF collaborators circulating.

Türk called for independent, transparent investigations in line with international standards.

Rehab El Mubarak, a lawyer with the Emergency Lawyers Authority, also condemned abuses by the SAF in Khartoum’s El Jureif West, Khartoum North (Bahri), and El Kalakla areas. Civilians were reportedly executed on suspicion of RSF affiliation, with judicial oversight collapsed.

El Mubarak also cited RSF violations in Soba and near Khartoum’s armoured corps, including starvation and torture of detainees.

She held both warring parties responsible for these abuses, some of which may be ethnically or politically motivated.

Activists and resistance committee members have also been targeted, with reports of homes stormed and portraits of December Revolution martyrs removed.

*Khartoum’s Southern Belt is part of the periphery of the capital inhabited by people earlier displaced by wars in Darfur, Kordofan, and Blue Nile region and South Sudanese refugees, and by impoverished farmers from various parts of the country who lost their lands to banks.