El Geneina

More Than 59,000 Killed Since the Outbreak of War in Sudan Report: SiddigTeben May 31, 2026 Since the outbreak of war in Sudan on April 15, 2023, the country has been experiencing one of the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophes, amid an unprecedented rise in the number of deaths, displaced persons, and missing people, alongside growing accusations of war crimes and grave violations against civilians in several Sudanese states, particularly Khartoum, Darfur, and Al Jazirah. Estimates by the United Nations and international organizations up to 2026 indicate that at least 59,000 people have been killed since the war began, while the actual number is believed to be far higher due to the difficulty of accessing conflict areas and the absence of official monitoring and documentation systems in many affected regions. UN reports also confirmed a significant escalation in the targeting of civilians during 2025 alone, documenting the deaths of more than 11,300 civilians during that year as a result of indiscriminate shelling, armed attacks, and direct abuses against the population. Khartoum: Shelling of Residential Areas and Enforced Disappearances Since the early months of the war, Khartoum State has witnessed repeated waves of aerial and artillery bombardment targeting residential neighborhoods, leading to the deaths of large numbers of civilians, including women, children, and the elderly. Human rights reports also documented direct killings of civilians, enforced disappearances, and mass arrests, in addition to the discovery of mass graves in some areas and the burial of victims without official documentation due to the collapse of security, health, and judicial services. Al Jazirah and Wad Madani: Widespread Violations Against Civilians In Al Jazirah State, particularly in the city of Wad Madani, human rights organizations documented killings, looting, and mass arrests following the entry of the Rapid Support Forces into the state, amid increasing reports of abuses against women and children. Activists and observers stressed that the absence of official monitoring institutions, along with communication blackouts and the disruption of services in many areas, has made it difficult to determine accurate casualty figures, while many families continue searching for missing relatives. El Fasher: One of the Most Severe Humanitarian Tragedies El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State and the Darfur region, is considered one of the areas where the largest documented mass violations occurred during the war. According to UN reports, more than 6,000 people were killed during the first three days following the major assault on the city in October 2025, while more than 4,400 civilians died as a result of indiscriminate artillery shelling on residential neighborhoods before the city fell on October 27, 2025. Reports also indicated that more than 1,600 people were killed while attempting to flee the city along routes leading to Tawila and Gurni west of El Fasher, amid extremely dire humanitarian conditions and an almost complete collapse of health and food services. The reports further referred to thousands of missing persons whose fate remains unknown. Women and Children: Victims of Sexual Violence and Siege The United Nations and UNICEF documented hundreds of cases of rape and conflict-related sexual violence, with the UN describing women’s and girls’ bodies as being “used as weapons of war.” More than 500 cases of sexual violence were documented during 2025 alone, including reports of gang rape, sexual slavery, and the detention of women for ransom. As for children, UNICEF described the situation in Sudan as “a crisis of rape and sexual violence against children,” amid widespread reports of children being killed or injured during shelling, displacement, and siege situations, in addition to documented cases of rape involving underage girls and children in conflict zones and displacement camps. of Genocide In West Darfur, the city of El Geneina witnessed one of the most horrific crimes associated with the war, where the United Nations documented the discovery of a mass grave containing more than 87 bodies, including women and children. Reports also described ethnically targeted killings against the Masalit community, as well as testimonies concerning field executions, arson, and enforced disappearances. Later UN reports referred to “indicators of genocide” in Darfur and El Fasher, as widespread violence and abuses against civilians continued. Thousands Missing Amid the Absence of an Official Database Despite the scale of the tragedy, Sudan still lacks a comprehensive official database documenting the numbers of missing persons and fatalities. The United Nations confirmed the existence of “thousands of missing persons whose fate remains unknown,” including people who disappeared after arrest or while fleeing conflict zones, while thousands of Sudanese families continue to live in uncertainty regarding the fate of their loved ones. Horrific Violations and Shocking Testimonies Field reports and eyewitness testimonies also described incidents of mass burials without legal procedures, the prevention of families from burying victims in some areas, and the detention of civilians inside homes or facilities before those places were bombed. Witnesses and activists further reported cases of people being buried alive or killed while hiding, especially in Darfur, alongside unconfirmed reports of civilians being detained for ransom and human trafficking operations linked to displacement and migration routes. Migration Tragedy: Thousands Dead and Missing Outside Sudan In another dimension of the crisis, the “Mishad Observatory” reported that more than 8,421 Sudanese have been killed or gone missing along migration routes since the outbreak of the war, due to the severe deterioration of security, economic, and humanitarian conditions. According to the observatory, 4,119 Sudanese died in the Mediterranean Sea, including 311 children and 844 women, while more than 3,100 Sudanese remain missing after attempting migration through various maritime routes. The observatory also documented the deaths of 1,202 Sudanese in the Sahara Desert, including 477 children under the age of 18 and 269 women, amid harsh humanitarian conditions and growing dangers facing Sudanese migrants and refugees. The report further indicated that more than 57,000 Sudanese are currently being held in prisons and detention centers in Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Niger, many of them living in dire humanitarian conditions amid growing concerns over human rights abuses and limited access to healthcare and legal protection. Secret Prisons and Abuses Inside Detention Centers As part of the ongoing violations against civilians during the war, human rights reports and survivor testimonies indicated that thousands of civilians are being held in prisons and detention centers run by the rebel militia across several Sudanese states, under extremely harsh humanitarian and health conditions. Reports described the detention of women, children, and elderly people in severe conditions, while many families have been denied communication with their relatives or information about their whereabouts, in the absence of any legal or humanitarian oversight over these detention facilities. In the city of Nyala, South Darfur State, human rights reports revealed that more than 8,000 detainees are being held inside the notorious “Dagreis Prison,” including women, elderly people, and senior citizens, amid accusations of grave abuses including torture, ill-treatment, and deprivation of food and medical care. Consistent testimonies also referred to deaths inside detention centers caused by hunger, disease, and medical neglect, alongside ongoing arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances targeting civilians in conflict areas. As the war enters its fourth year, the scale of Sudan’s humanitarian catastrophe continues to expand at an unprecedented rate, while the number of victims, displaced persons, and missing people grows daily amid the near-total collapse of basic services and worsening living conditions across much of the country. The suffering of civilians — especially women, children, and the elderly — remains one of the harshest realities of this war, amid continued killings, displacement, mass abuses, and the absence of justice and accountability. Observers believe Sudan is now facing a historic turning point that requires urgent regional and international action to stop the war, protect civilians, ensure humanitarian access, and launch independent investigations into the violations and crimes committed against innocent people. Between mass graves, secret prisons, dangerous migration routes, and overcrowded displacement camps filled with hunger and fear, millions of Sudanese continue to dream of a safe homeland that can restore peace, stability, and human dignity

“I Will Not Spare Even an Old Woman,” Said Amid Militia Laughter: A Self-Filmed Threat Against Omdurman Adds to the Record of the UAE-Backed Rapid Support Militia, From El Geneina and Al Gezira to Khartoum and El Fasher, One Pattern of Terror Against Civilians Members of the UAE-backed Rapid Support Militia (Janjaweed) circulated a video showing one of its fighters, known as “Major General Satayir,” issuing direct threats against civilians in Omdurman. In the footage, he appears surrounded by other militia members who laugh as he speaks. He declares that he is coming to Omdurman and says crudely, “I will not spare even an old woman,” in a direct threat against elderly women if he enters the city. In the video, Satayir says: “We told you, people of Omdurman.” He then adds: “By God, I have a problem with the people of Omdurman,” before making an explicit threat: “By God, Omdurman, if I come, I will not even spare the old women.” He then singles out residents of Al-Thawra neighborhood, Block 18, saying: “You are insulting me,” before ending with another direct warning: “If you have an elderly woman, hide her from me and keep her out of my reach.” This footage falls within a long record of rhetoric and conduct practiced by the Rapid Support Militia across different parts of Sudan. It offers another example, in the voice of one of the militia’s own fighters, of the language of threats and intimidation that has accompanied its crimes against civilians since the start of the war. This is open terrorist language, directed at civilian residents, delivered in an atmosphere of laughter and encouragement. It reflects a pattern repeatedly seen in the militia’s behavior inside cities, villages, and residential neighborhoods. This pattern appeared in El Geneina, where the militia and its allies carried out mass killings and ethnic cleansing against the Masalit and other communities. It appeared in Al Gezira, where civilians were killed, detained, raped, looted, and displaced. It appeared in Khartoum and Omdurman, where the militia occupied homes, terrorized residents, looted property, turned residential neighborhoods into spaces of fear and abuse, and turned houses into places of detention and torture. It also appeared in El Fasher, where siege, starvation, shelling, and killing became part of a systematic campaign against the city and its people, resulting in thousands of deaths in one of the worst massacres the world has witnessed this century. This video places that mentality before the world once again, in the voice of one of the militia’s own members. The threat against Omdurman cannot be separated from the crimes committed in Darfur, Al Gezira, Khartoum, and El Fasher. It belongs to the same context: a militia that treats civilians as targets, uses fear as a weapon, and turns threats into public speech that its fighters record and boast about. For this reason, describing the Rapid Support Militia as a terrorist militia is grounded in its conduct on the ground, its structure, its rhetoric, and the crimes it has committed across Sudan. The militia boasts about its crimes and documents them itself. Its fighters film themselves threatening civilians without any fear of accountability, laughing at statements that clearly threaten women and the elderly. The world cannot claim that it does not see. The videos are there. The testimonies are there. The burned villages are there. The mass graves are there. The looted homes are there. The besieged cities are there. Now there are also threats spoken by militia members in their own voices, recorded by themselves, and circulated without fear. The world also knows that this scene has become possible because of the continued support the militia receives from the UAE. Numerous international reports and investigations have pointed to Abu Dhabi’s role in enabling the Rapid Support Militia through weapons, logistical support, and cross-border networks. While Sudanese civilians face killing, displacement, rape, starvation, and terror, the militia continues to benefit from external support that prolongs the war and gives it the capacity to keep committing atrocities. The world knows, then looks away, because deals with the UAE appear, in many capitals, to matter more than the lives of thousands of children, women, and civilians in Sudan. #Sudan #RSFisTerroristOrganization #UAEKillsSudanesePeople #UAESponsorsTerrorism