A Sudanese human rights group, Emergency Lawyers, has accused the national Army and security forces of operating “execution chambers” and torturing detainees to death. The group said it has documented hundreds of arbitrary arrests in Khartoum since the Army retook the city from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in March 2025.
In some of the “worst cases”, victims were later found dead with signs of torture, while others remain detained in dire conditions or released in poor health. The Army has yet to respond to these allegations, which add to a growing record of atrocities committed during the country’s brutal two-year civil war that has killed tens of thousands.
The group’s latest findings echo concerns raised by the UN, which earlier this year reported a “widespread pattern” of arbitrary detention, torture, and sexual violence by both the army and the RSF. Once again, Sudan is seeing a return to abusive practices reminiscent of Omar al-Bashir’s repressive rule.
The conflict has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, displacing 12 million people, fuelling famine, and worsening the country’s cholera outbreak, which has killed nearly 2,500 people in the past year. Human rights advocates warn that unchecked violations are deepening the suffering of civilians caught between the warring sides.