How Sudan’s war on civilians pushed global violence to levels unseen

The fall of El Fasher in October 2025 triggered a wave of violence: patients shot in hospitals, women raped, mass displacement. According to the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), about 245,000 people were killed in direct conflict-related violence worldwide in 2025, making it one of the deadliest years since the Cold War. Researchers note a 'new, higher baseline' of global violence, driven primarily by one-sided violence against civilians, especially in Sudan.