The UN’s senior human rights official delivered a stark warning to parties in Sudan’s devastating civil war on Friday, telling them the world is documenting their crimes and accountability is inevitable.

The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which erupted in April 2023, has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced nearly 13 million and triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

The violence has escalated dramatically in recent weeks, when the paramilitary seized control of the key town of El Fasher in north Darfur, prompting reports of atrocities and mass killings.

“All those involved in this conflict should know: we are watching you and justice will prevail,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said at a special Human Rights Council session convened to address the rapidly deteriorating situation.

The special session – requested by the UK alongside Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Norway, and backed by 23 council members and 31 observer states – met the threshold required for urgent action as the bloody war in Sudan continues.

States have adopted by consensus a resolution for a fact-finding mission on reported mass killings during the fall of the Darfur city to the RSF. It was the last stronghold of Sudan's army in the vast western region.

The fact-finding mission will seek to identify the perpetrators of violations and investigate alleged atrocities in El Fasher.

"My staff are gathering evidence of violations that could be used in legal proceedings," said Mr Turk. "We have deployed several missions to areas where civilians are fleeing, and are sending more. The International Criminal Court has indicated that it is following the situation closely."

Human Rights Council Special Session on the Human Rights Situation in and around Sudan's El Fasher. Vanessa Ghanem / The National

Mr Turk called on the international community to ensure that civilians from El Fasher and the surrounding areas have access to the humanitarian aid and protection "they so desperately need".

According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), 90,000 civilians have fled El Fasher since it fell into paramilitary control.

The IOM said heavy shelling and ground assaults in and around El Fasher in the past two weeks have forced families to flee through unsafe routes with "almost no access to food, water or medical assistance".

Tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped inside the city, surviving in famine-like conditions as hospitals, markets and water systems collapse, the organisa