A leading Sudanese human rights group has accused the country’s army of torturing detainees to death and running what it describes as “execution chambers,” deepening concerns over atrocities in a civil war that has already claimed tens of thousands of lives.
The Emergency Lawyers group said it has documented hundreds of arrests in Khartoum since the army recaptured the capital from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in March. In some of the worst cases, detainees were later found dead, bearing signs of torture.
The army has not responded to the allegations. Throughout the two-year conflict, rights groups have accused both the army and the RSF of committing widespread abuses, including arbitrary detentions, torture, and sexual violence.
Emergency Lawyers said on social media that it had observed a “dangerous escalation in violations.” According to the group, detainees have faced grim fates, prolonged confinement in inhumane conditions, trials before security agencies lacking basic standards of justice, release in poor health, or death as a result of torture.
Such practices recall the methods used during the repressive rule of former president Omar al-Bashir. The United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan reported in March that both sides in the current conflict have engaged in arbitrary arrest, rape, and torture of detainees.
The fighting, which pits the army against the RSF, has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The UN estimates that 12 million people have been forced from their homes, while famine has been declared in parts of the country.
Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) recently reported that the war has also worsened Sudan’s public health emergency, fueling the country’s worst cholera outbreak in years. Nearly 100,000 cases and 2,470 deaths have been recorded over the past year.
With Khartoum reduced to a shell of its former self and atrocities mounting, rights groups are urging the international community to act swiftly to protect civilians and hold perpetrators accountable.