Sudanese put through 'hell' as advanced weapons fuel war: UN rights chief

Artefacts that were recovered after being looted from the National Museum in Khartoum during the country's long-running war, are displayed during an official ceremony in Port Sudan on January 13, 2026. [AFP]

Nearly three years of war have put the Sudanese people through "hell", the UN's rights chief said Sunday, blasting the vast sums spent on advanced weaponry at the expense of humanitarian aid and the recruitment of child soldiers.

Since April 2023, Sudan has been gripped by a conflict  between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that has left tens of thousands of people dead and around 11 million displaced.

Speaking in Port Sudan during his first wartime visit,  UN Human Rights commissioner Volker Turk commissioner Volker Turk said the population had endured "horror and hell", calling it "despicable" that funds that "should be used to alleviate the suffering of the population" are instead spent on advanced weapons, particularly drones.

More than 21 million people are facing acute food insecurity, and two-thirds of Sudan's population is in urgent need of humanitarian aid, according to the UN.

In addition to the world's largest hunger and displacement crisis, Sudan is also facing "the increasing militarisation of society by all parties to the conflict, including through the arming of civilians and recruitment and use of children", Turk added.

He said he had heard testimony of "unbearable" atrocities from survivors of attacks in Darfur, and warned of similar crimes unfolding in the Kordofan region -- the current epicentre of the fighting.

Testimony of these atrocities must be heard by "the commanders of this conflict and those who are arming, funding and profiting from this war", he said.

The UN has repeatedly warned of rampant interference from foreign actors.

The United Arab Emirates has been widely accused of supplying the RSF with weapons, mercenaries and political backing, which Abu Dhabi consistently denies.

The army's biggest backers are Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and it has reportedly also received arms including drones from Iran and Turkey.

Mediation efforts have failed to produce a ceasefire, even after international outrage intensified last year with reports of mass killings, rape and abductions during the RSF's takeover of El-Fasher in Darfur.

"We must ensure that the perpetrators of these horrific violations face justice regardless of the affiliation," Turk said on Sunday, adding that repeated attacks on civilian infrastructure could constitute "war crimes".

He called on both sides to "cease intolerable attacks against civilian objects that are indispensable to the civilian population, including markets, health facilities, schools and shelters".

Turk again warned on Sunday that crimes similar to those seen in El-Fasher could recur in volatile Kordofan, where the RSF has advanced, besieging and attacking several key cities.

Hundreds of thousands face starvation across the region, where more than 65,000 people have been displaced since October, according to the latest UN figures.