October 19, 2026 Report – Darfur24
As the war in Sudan continues, civilians are subjected to violations—including killings and targeted attacks in residential areas, markets, and healthcare facilities—as well as sexual violence, arbitrary arrests, and the recruitment of children. These abuses occur alongside significant challenges in delivering humanitarian aid, documenting violations, and holding those responsible to account.
Darfur24 hosted Noon Kashkoush—a lawyer, human rights defender, and director of the Al-Gazera Center for Human Rights—on its podcast, “Stories from Darfur.” The discussion focused on the protection of civilians in Darfur under international conventions and international humanitarian law, the violations committed against them, and potential pathways toward justice.
Kashkoush explained that the armed conflict in Sudan is classified as a non-international armed conflict. Consequently, all parties involved are bound by the rules of international humanitarian law—most notably Common Article 3 of the four Geneva Conventions. This article prohibits attacks on the lives or physical integrity of individuals, extrajudicial killings, torture, cruel or degrading treatment, sexual violence, and taking of hostages
She clarified that this protection extends to both civilians and combatants who have laid down their arms or ceased participating in hostilities. She further noted that the ongoing violations reflect a complete lack of adherence to these international rules and relevant protocols. Regarding children, she reported that the parties to the conflict and their affiliated forces have failed to meet the requirements for their protection since the outbreak of war on April 15. Furthermore, economic deterioration and displacement have facilitated the recruitment of children.
Noon Kashkoush noted that the Al Gazera Observatory for Human Rights has documented numerous cases of child recruitment and has called for children to be kept away from the fighting—calls that have gone unheeded. She also pointed to the spread of a “military culture” within schools and kindergartens, which further contributes to the militarization of society.
Ongoing Violations
Kashkoush explained that Darfur has witnessed acts of genocide—notably in El Geneina and during the fall of El Fasher—alongside aerial bombardments targeting hospitals and markets, including the hospital in El Daein. The use of drones has further compounded the risks to civilians, given their long-range capabilities and low cost.
She highlighted the arrests and detentions, particularly in El Fasher and Nyala, where civilians are being held in facilities controlled by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with limited international intervention to monitor their situation.
She emphasized that the principles of distinction and proportionality under international humanitarian law mandate a clear separation between military objectives and civilians. She warned against the dangers of targeting populations based on the assumption that they serve as “social bases” for the RSF, or due to their affiliation with specific tribes—a practice that risks fueling hate speech and ethnic or social-based targeting
Sexual Violence
Kashkoush stated that sexual violence has remained a tool of war in Darfur since 2003 and has persisted throughout the current conflict, manifesting in forms that include abduction, rape, and forced abortion.
She explained that women face difficulties in accessing safe channels to report such abuses, due to a fear of the consequences. She further noted that women have been subjected to forms of sexual violence linked to the process of obtaining food within camps in Chad.
She added that the difficulty in accessing humanitarian aid exacerbates the suffering of women, particularly regarding their protection needs and the availability of medicines required to prevent diseases associated with sexual violence.
Regarding humanitarian and healthcare workers, she pointed out that doctors have been subjected to enforced disappearance and detention. Furthermore, healthcare facilities—including the Saudi Hospital in El Fasher and the Ed Daein Hospital—have come under attack, despite the protection afforded to such facilities under international humanitarian law.
Obstruction of Humanitarian Aid delivery
Kashkoush warned of the risk of famine in Darfur and parts of Kordofan, noting that the obstruction of humanitarian aid is a primary factor exacerbating the crisis.
She stated that aid convoys are being subjected to bombardment, and that the delivery of relief supplies faces significant hurdles at border crossings—such as Adré and El-Tineh—in addition to the complex bureaucratic processes required to obtain the necessary authorizations for humanitarian organizations to operate.
She further explained that the failure of the agricultural season, coupled with scarce rainfall, drought, and the difficulty of obtaining fuel and gas, has intensified the suffering of civilians and disrupted their daily lives.
Impunity
Kashkoush emphasized that Sudan has a long-standing legacy of impunity. This persists even though Sudanese criminal law contains provisions addressing war crimes and crimes against humanity—including forced displacement, looting, genocide, the targeting of civilians, and conflict-related sexual violence—as well as the legal responsibility of commanders.
However, she pointed out that the influence of those in power over the judicial and legal systems poses a major challenge to the pursuit of justice, noting that Sudan’s current judicial institutions are not sufficiently equipped to handle the issue of human rights violations.
Regarding the International Criminal Court (ICC), she stated that the Court, the Office of the Prosecutor, the Trust Fund for Victims, and the team tasked with documenting victims continue their work concerning the situations in El-Geneina and El-Fasher. She added that, based on the information available, investigations into the genocide in El Geneina and the violations in El Fasher have made significant progress, despite challenges such as a lack of funding and limited staffing.
Regarding the documentation of violations, she explained that the difficulty in accessing information and the targeting of routes used by field staff are among the primary obstacles. She noted that the Al Gazera Center for Human Rights relies on a team trained in open-source monitoring and information verification, alongside field-based observers, emphasizing that their protection remains a top priority.
Kashkoush called for an urgent ceasefire and a humanitarian truce to facilitate the delivery of aid, stressing the necessity of ending the war and reaching political understandings to address the crisis in Sudan.
Calls to Strengthen Civilian Protection
During the podcast, participants emphasized the need for the warring parties to respect international humanitarian law, distinguish between civilians and combatants, refrain from targeting civilian infrastructure, and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid.
One participant pointed to ongoing aerial bombardment in areas controlled by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)—including residential neighborhoods and markets—while noting that the RSF, in turn, has shelled civilian facilities, as seen in El Obeid, a city that is also currently under siege.
Participants criticized what they described as a lack of international and regional attention toward the protection of civilians. They also pointed to divisions within certain human rights organizations, which have become aligned with different sides of the conflict, leading to a selective focus on the violations committed by one party over another. One participant stated that artillery and aerial bombardment, along with drone attacks, have damaged hospitals, health facilities, and homes, resulting in the deaths and injuries of civilians. She emphasized that the protection of citizens has not been a priority for the warring parties.
She called on all parties to make the protection of civilians a top priority and urged the United Nations to develop a new plan for their protection in Sudan.
Ultimately, the protection of civilians in Darfur depends on the extent to which the parties to the conflict adhere to international humanitarian law, ensure the delivery of aid, halt violations, and strengthen mechanisms for documentation and accountability—all of which are essential to safeguarding the population and their rights amidst the ongoing war.