Nairobi, April 11(Darfur 24)
Amnesty International accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Thursday of committing sexual violence during the war in Sudan, citing incidents including sexual slavery and gang rape.
A new report by the organization states that the RSF carried out widespread sexual attacks against women and girls over the course of two years of the Sudanese civil war, with the aim of humiliating victims, consolidating control, and displacing populations in various parts of the country.
“Harrowing and Morally Depraved Attacks”
“The RSF’s attacks on Sudanese women and girls are horrific and morally degrading, and are designed to inflict the ultimate humiliation,” said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Regional Impact Director.
The 30-page report, titled “They Raped Us All,” includes accounts from 30 victims, some of whom were minors, and members of the victims’ families.
These acts of violence occurred between April 2023 and October 2024 in four Sudanese states, particularly in Darfur, Khartoum, and Al-Jazirah, according to Amnesty International.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been embroiled in a civil war between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), and the Sudanese army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
The conflict has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, displaced 12 million people, and plunged the country into a severe humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations.
Both sides in the conflict have been accused of committing war crimes, and the UN and NGOs continue to denounce the use of rape as a weapon of war.
“Harrowing Testimonies from Victims”
Among the cases documented in the report, Amnesty International recorded two women who were subjected to sexual slavery after being held in Khartoum and “raped daily” for several weeks.
A 34-year-old survivor from the Jabra neighborhood, south of Khartoum, who was abducted by RSF fighters on May 15, 2023, recounted that she was held for a month and “raped almost daily.”
“They released me after 30 days when I became very ill,” she said.
Another victim, 27, was held for days in a shop near a military checkpoint after being arrested and forcibly separated from her husband.
“I could hear my wife screaming as they raped her every day,” the husband said. “I was completely helpless to help her.”
Rape as a weapon of revenge
Amnesty International reported that several victims said fighters wearing Rapid Support Forces uniforms raped them on suspicion of supporting the Sudanese army.
Specialized medical personnel reported that Rapid Support Forces fighters raped women when they were unable to rescue wounded soldiers.
Escalating Sexual Violence and Responses
In October, an independent UN international fact-finding mission to Sudan noted an escalation in sexual violence, including “rape, sexual exploitation, and abduction for sexual purposes, as well as allegations of forced marriage and human trafficking.”
RSF described the findings of the fact-finding mission as “social media propaganda.”