Sudanese people have been put through “hell” as the brutal civil war nears three years mark, U.N.’s rights chief said Sunday, condemning the vast sums spent on advanced weapons and the use 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, U.N. Human Rights 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 militarization of society by all parties to the conflict, including through the arming of civilians and recruitment and use of children", Turk added.
