Sudan’s Capital Reels Under Wave of Sexual Violence Amid Conflict, HRW Reports
In a harrowing revelation, Human Rights Watch has reported that Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have engaged in widespread acts of sexual violence in Khartoum, the nation’s capital.
The atrocities, including gang rape and forced marriages, are part of the ongoing conflict with the Sudanese armed forces, which has raged since April 2023.
The HRW report also implicates the army in some attacks, detailing horrifying accounts of women and girls being held in conditions akin to sexual slavery and assaulted in front of their families. Both the RSF and the army have denied these allegations, claiming they have measures in place to prevent human rights abuses.
One woman living under RSF control described sleeping with a knife under her pillow out of fear, while a midwife recounted the constant dread of RSF raids targeting homes specifically for the women and girls inside. The report also highlighted significant barriers faced by survivors attempting to terminate pregnancies resulting from rape, as well as sexual assaults on men and boys.
Since the war’s inception, the RSF has dominated Khartoum and its surrounding cities, Bahri and Omdurman. The conflict has exacerbated ethnic violence, especially in Darfur, where the RSF and allied militias have allegedly led brutal campaigns against the Masalit ethnic group.
Hala al-Karib, head of the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa, noted that women from the Masalit and Nuba mountains have also been targeted around Khartoum and Omdurman. Emergency response volunteer Nidal Ahmed revealed that female volunteers have suffered detentions and rapes while trying to provide aid, with some, like a colleague of hers, even being killed.
The HRW report emphasized an alarming increase in sexual violence cases following the army’s control of Omdurman in early 2024.
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Sudan’s Capital Reels Under Wave of Sexual Violence Amid Conflict, HRW Reports
