The armed conflict in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has caused unprecedented devastation. Rather than mitigating the magnitude of civilian harm caused by their fighting, the warring parties have each exploited the ongoing state of conflict to target civilians. This report is an abridged version of a submission made to the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan in July 2024 and addresses one of the most prominent features of the targeting: the ongoing arbitrary arrest, arbitrary detention, and torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment by both sides of thousands of individuals, many of whom are civilians as part of a shadow war against civil society, human rights defenders, activists, and marginalised communities.
