Volker Türk issued a statement on Wednesday saying he was deeply shocked by reports that hundreds of civilians were killed, and scores injured, in the 24 March strikes on a busy market in Tora Village.

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and a rival military known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been at war for nearly two years.

On Wednesday, international media reported that the army had recaptured the capital, Khartoum, which had mostly been under RSF control since fighting erupted in April 2023.

The army recaptured the presidential palace last Friday and is now reportedly in control of all the bridges across the River Nile which connect the different areas of the capital area. 

Indiscriminate killings continue

The UN rights chief said his Office, OHCHR, learned that 13 of those killed in Monday’s airstrikes belonged to a single family, and that some of the injured are also reportedly dying due to the extremely limited access to healthcare.

OHCHR have also received reports that in the aftermath of the attack, members of the RSF arbitrarily arrested and detained civilians in Tora.

Both the RSF and Government forces have been accused of indiscriminately shelling civilian areas during the brutal conflict.  

“Despite my repeated warnings and appeals to both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to protect civilians in line with international humanitarian law, civilians continue to be killed indiscriminately, maimed and mistreated on a near daily basis, while civilian objects remain an all-too-frequent target,” said Mr. Türk.

He once again urged both parties to take all measures to avoid harming civilians and attacking civilian objects.

The High Commissioner warned that Indiscriminate attacks and attacks against civilians, and civilian objects, are unacceptable and may constitute war crimes. 

“There must be full accountability for violations committed in this latest attack, and the many other attacks against civilians that have preceded it. Such conduct must never become normalized,” he said. 

“These detentions triggered country-wide demonstrations that were met with unlawful blanket bans on protests in three cities,” said OHCHR spokesperson Liz Throssell.

More than 1,000 people have been detained during the protests, among them at least nine media workers.

Türkiye has reportedly seen its largest street protests in more than a decade following the arrest of current Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival, Mr. İmamoğlu.

Legitimate right of protest

Ms. Throssell said that all those detained “for the legitimate exercise of their rights must be released immediately and unconditionally.”

Those facing charges should be treated with dignity, she added, and their rights to due process while their rights to a fair trial – including access to a lawyer of their own choice – must be fully ensured.

“We urge the authorities to ensure that the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly are guaranteed, in line with international law, and that credible allegations of unlawful use of force against protesters are promptly and thoroughly investigated,” Ms. Throssell underscored.

Ukraine: Dozens injured in Sumy attack; UN welcomes announcement of Black Sea ceasefire

More than 80 civilians – including children – were injured following a Russian missile attack on the city of Sumy on Monday in Ukraine’s northeast, UN humanitarians have reported.

Citing local authorities, more than 20 children were injured with two schools, a hospital and multiple homes suffering extensive damage in the attack, said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.

“Complementing the efforts of the first responders, and immediately after the attack, humanitarian organizations provided first aid and helped transport the wounded to the hospitals. They also distributed shelter materials, blankets and other necessities.”

UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Mattias Schmale, condemned the attack in Sumy and recent drone strikes in the cities of Zaporizhzhia and Kyiv.

Since the escalation of the war in 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion, the Human Rights Monitoring Mission to Ukraine has verified more than 2,500 child casualties in that country, Mr. Dujarric maintained.

It also noted an alarming increase in child casualties in 2024, caused by explosive weapons targeting territory inside Ukraine, due to intensified attacks along the frontline in the Donetsk Region and increased use of long-range missiles, drones and aerial bombing.

Black Sea announcements

The White House on Tuesday said that Russia and Ukraine had reached separate agreements following talks in Saudi Arabia with US negotiators, with both agreeing to a maritime ceasefire in the crucial Black Sea shipping corridor.

The US said Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to the principal of safe navigation, eliminating the use of force and preventing the use of commercial vessels for military purposes.

Asked for reaction from the Secretary-General, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told the regular noon briefing that the two announcements were a welcome development.

“These issues, notably, on the freedom of navigation and Black Sea, are issues that the Secretary-General, his team, notably Rebeca Grynspan [head of trade and development body, UNCTAD] and others, have been working on since almost the start of the conflict. And there continues to be discussions on these issues.”

Mr. Dujarric said the UN had played no part in discussions in Riyad but noted Ms. Grynspan had been in Moscow for talks Monday on resuming the Memorandum of Understanding between Russia, Ukraine, Türkiye and the United Nations under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which Moscow pulled out of in July 2023.

He confirmed talks had also taken place recently in Washington.

The UN has been heavily invested in ensuring that Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea can happen safely, along with the transport of Russian food and fertilizer, to halt spiralling food prices worldwide and stave off famine in vulnerable countries.

The UN-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative was agreed by Russia, Ukraine, Türkiye and the UN in Istanbul in July 2022. It allowed more than 30 million tonnes of grain and other foodstuffs to leave Ukraine’s ports and played an “indispensable role” in global food security, Mr. Guterres said at the time.

Sudanese uprooted by conflict drag themselves across Chad’s border

Finally, to the Sudan-Chad border, where UN teams have said that a humanitarian emergency is underway, with the number of people fleeing to eastern Chad expected to surpass one million by the end of the year.

There are already 970,000 refugees in Chad today, the result of almost two years of heavy fighting in Sudan between rival militaries. Many have endured terrible violence and sexual abuse.

The refugees are being housed in 18 refugee camps and other shelters, but this has added to pressures on already neglected communities in eastern Chad, according to the UN Development Programme, UNDP.

To help, the UN agency’s Resident Representative in Chad, Francis James, said that a new centre for women should open in Adre next month. It’s an initiative of the UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and its purpose is to strengthen ties between host and refugee communities, Mr. James said:

“You have refugees coming over, literally crawling over and stumbling over the border, and you need social protection…but also you need to give them hope.”

Other UN projects include supporting women and girls to go back to school.

UNDP’s Mr. James explained that it was key that classrooms are built close to the refugee camps so that schoolgoers can avoid walking “for kilometres through dangerous zones” where they risk being assaulted.

Continued attacks in Sudan

Stéphane Dujarric said on Tuesday the UN was “gravely alarmed by continued attacks on civilians” inside Sudan.

Dozens of casualties were reported on Monday night when an air strike hit a market around 40 kilometres north-west of Darfur’s main city of El Fasher – which remains besieged by the Rapid Support Forces militia who have been fighting Government troops for nearly two years for control of Sudan.

“Our humanitarian colleagues are also deeply concerned about escalating attacks on populated areas in Khartoum,” Mr. Dujarric continued.

There were reports of civilians killed and injured in eastern Khartoum on Monday when artillery struck a mosque during evening prayers. Civilian casualties were also reported on Sunday as a result of heavy shelling in Omdurman – Khartoum’s twin city across the Nile.  

On 21 March, assailants from the so-called Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) – an ISIL affiliate – surrounded Fambita Mosque and randomly shot at worshippers, according to a statement from Niger’s defence ministry. They then reportedly set a market and several homes on fire.

“The egregious attack on the Fambita Mosque – during Friday prayers in the last 10 days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan – was clearly intended to cause as many civilian casualties as possible”, said Mr Türk.

This is “in stark violation of international human rights law and humanitarian law,” he emphasised, adding that an impartial investigation should be instituted to bring those responsible to justice.

Regional insecurity

The attack came in the context of a general deterioration in the security situation in the wider Sahel region.

In recent years, the Sahel has seen a major uptick in violence, following the expansion of armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL terrorist groups which took over territory in north Mali following the 2012 Tuareg rebellion there.

Since then, the violence has spread into neighbouring countries, Niger and Burkina Faso, and more recently into some other coastal West African nations.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed characterised the Sahel as “ground zero” for one of the most brutal security crises in the world.

Despite efforts by Member States, terrorism-related deaths in the region have reportedly soared past 6,000 for three consecutive years, making up more than half of all global fatalities.

‘A wake-up call’

Mr. Türk said the “calculated assault” on Fambita Mosque should be a wake-up call to all – including the international community – “as to the seriousness of the situation and the widening risks faced by civilians in Niger.”

Governments in the region have continued to struggle with restoring security. This contributed to two military coups in Mali, two in Burkina Faso and one in Niger between 2020 and 2023 – all remain under military rule despite regional and international pressure to hold elections.

The High Commissioner called on the Nigerien authorities to take “concrete and meaningful steps” to improve security for civilians and called on them to take effective measures to uphold human rights and the rule of law.

He said it was essential that authorities involve the affected communities in efforts towards finding a durable solution to the ongoing human rights crisis in the country. 

Addressing the General Assembly, Secretary-General António Guterres warned that systemic racism, economic exclusion and racial violence continue to deny people of African descent the opportunity to thrive.

He called on governments to acknowledge the truth and finally honour the trade’s legacy by taking action.  

“For too long, the crimes of the transatlantic slave trade – and their ongoing impact – have remained unacknowledged, unspoken and unaddressed,” he said, denouncing erasure of history, rewriting of narratives and dismissal of slavery’s intrinsic harm.

“The obscene profits derived from chattel slavery and the racist ideologies that underpinned the trade are still with us,” he added.

Four centuries of abuse

For over four centuries, an estimated 25 to 30 million Africans – nearly a third of the continent’s population at the time – were forcibly taken from their homelands. Many did not survive the brutal journey across the Atlantic.

The exploitation and suffering – families torn apart, entire communities decimated and generations condemned to bondage – was driven by greed and sustained by racist ideologies, which remain today.

Honouring and remembering those who suffered, the UN in 2007 designated March 25 as the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

The date marks the passage of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in the United Kingdom in 1807, three years after the Haitian Revolution. The revolution led to the establishment of the Republic of Haiti – the first country to gain independence based on the actions of enslaved men and women.

Forced to pay for their freedom

Even after slavery was abolished, the UN chief noted, its victims were not compensated and, in many cases, formerly enslaved people were forced to pay for their freedom.

Haiti, for instance, had to make massive payouts to those who profited from its suffering, a financial burden that set the young nation on a path of enduring economic hardship.

“Today is not only a day of remembrance. It is also a day to reflect on the enduring legacies of slavery and colonialism and to strengthen our resolve to combat those evils today,” Mr. Guterres said.

Move forward with resolve

Mr. Guterres urged governments, businesses and civil society to take decisive action against racism and discrimination, urging nations to fully implement the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and to comply with their human rights obligations.

“Acknowledging this truth is not only necessary – it is vital for addressing past wrongs, healing the present and building a future of dignity and justice for all,” he stressed.

Stains not easily erased

The President of the General Assembly, Philémon Yang, echoed the Secretary-General’s concerns, stating that while slavery was formally abolished, its legacy persists in racial inequalities that span generations.

“The stains of injustice are not easily erased,” he said, pointing to ongoing disparities in housing, employment, healthcare, education and criminal justice systems.

He stressed that addressing these injustices requires not only acknowledgment but concrete policy changes that ensure equity and inclusion.

Mr. Yang also underscored the importance of education in confronting these painful legacies. He called for a global effort to integrate comprehensive histories of slavery and its aftermath into school curricula, emphasising that an informed society is better equipped to challenge prejudice and foster empathy.

The Ark of Return

This year’s commemoration also marked the tenth anniversary of the Ark of Return, the permanent memorial at the UN Headquarters in New York to honour the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade, located at UN Headquarters in New York.  

Standing solemnly against the backdrop of the East River, the Ark of Return greets world leaders, government officials and the public as they enter UN Headquarters – a white-marble monument to the resilience and resistance of those who endured the horrors of slavery.

Designed by Haitian-American architect Rodney Leon, it also educates future generations about the ongoing dangers of racism and exclusion.

Click here to read UN News’ interview with Mr. Leon

A living monument to memory and justice

Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka (Literature, 1986) also address the commemoration in New York, having paid his respects at the Ark of Return.

Acknowledging the significance of the monument and its prominence at UN Headquarters, Mr. Soyinka urged world leaders to go further by transforming static monuments into living, evolving spaces that not only honour the past but propel humanity toward justice.

“It is impossible to quantify reparations for such a global atrocity,” he said, emphasising the power of symbolism.

He proposed another expression of remembrance dubbed the “Heritage Voyage of Return”, which would trace the paths of the transatlantic ships, stopping at historic ports of enslavement along the West African coast and beyond.

This Voyage, he suggested, could serve as a living exposition – housing repatriated African artifacts, hosting cultural exhibitions and creating spaces for education, dialogue and artistic expression.

Wole Soyinka, playwright, poet and Nobel Laureate, delivers a keynote address to the commemorative meeting of the General Assembly to mark the International Day of Remembrance.

Turn the tide, flip the phrase

Salome Agbaroji, a young poet from the United States also spoke at the Commemoration, urging people of African descent to tell their “full and true” stories.

“Turn the tide, flip the phrase to reclaim our personhood and our narratives…your value goes far beyond the human labour you provide but lies in the vibrancy of your culture and innovations,” she said.

Echoing Secretary-General António Guterres’ emphasis on the need to acknowledge the horrors or slavery and dispel false narratives, she called for greater support for educational programmes to inform and empower young people.