A recent United Nations (U.N.) report accuses Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias of committing large-scale sexual violence against civilians during Sudan’s ongoing conflict. The report documents cases of rape, forced impregnation, and abduction, targeting civilians across Darfur and other regions. According to the U.N., victims range from 8 to 75 years old, and many attacks involved ethnic slurs and brutal violence, often aimed at the non-Arab Masalit population in Darfur.
U.N. mission chair Mohamed Chande Othman said that the level of sexual violence uncovered is “staggering.” The report includes cases where RSF soldiers threatened survivors with statements like “We will make you, the Masalit girls, give birth to Arab children.” The RSF, which has been fighting the Sudanese army since April 2023, has not responded to the report but previously said it would investigate allegations.
The conflict began in April 2023 between the Sudanese army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF under commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti.” Since then, the violence has spread beyond Khartoum to Darfur, Kordofan, and Gezira, resulting in a major humanitarian crisis. More than 11 million people have been displaced, and millions face severe food shortages.
The U.N. report urges accountability and calls for expanded International Criminal Court jurisdiction to cover abuses across Sudan. Women’s rights organizations, such as the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa, report that sexual violence has surged since the conflict began, with some women reportedly taking their own lives to escape further abuse.
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