HRW: 9-year-old girls gang raped by militias in Sudan

A new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW) has highlighted extensive sexual and gender-based violence committed by both the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, since the current civil war erupted in April 2023. The conflict, marked by intense fighting and widespread devastation, has led to horrific acts against civilians.

HRW’s findings are based on interviews with healthcare providers, social workers, counsellors and lawyers who have interacted with hundreds of survivors in Khartoum, Khartoum North, and Omdurman. Last week it was reported that in Omdurman, women are being forced to trade sex for food.

The report, entitled “Khartoum is not Safe for Women!” reveals that women and girls, aged nine to 60, have suffered widespread sexual violence, including rape, gang rape, forced marriage and child marriage. Men and boys have also been victims.

🚨 Sudan: The Rapid Support Forces committed acts of sexual violence amounting to war crimes in #Khartoum. Both warring parties are preventing survivors from accessing care, attacking healthcare, local responders, also war crimes. New @HRW report https://t.co/trud9PuS4V pic.twitter.com/WwvvjQzQLf

— Laetitia Bader (@LaetitiaBader) July 29, 2024

Most atrocities have been attributed to the RSF, which entrenched itself in many areas early in the conflict. However, the SAF has also been implicated in numerous violations. “The Rapid Support Forces have raped, gang raped, and forced into marriage countless women and girls in residential areas in Sudan’s capital,” said Laetitia Bader, HRW’s deputy Africa director.

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Service providers reported particularly high levels of sexual violence in populated areas of Khartoum North and Omdurman. One health worker recounted a case where a mother and her four daughters were repeatedly raped by RSF fighters in front of their family.

The RSF has also subjected women and girls to forced and child marriages, sometimes agreed to by desperate relatives in hopes of protection. The report reveals the immense physical, emotional, and psychological scars left on survivors, with some suffering fatal injuries. Many survivors, pregnant as a result of rape, have faced difficulties accessing abortion care.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) confirmed widespread sexual violence across Sudan, especially in Darfur, where ethnic cleansing by the RSF has been reported. The UN has labelled the situation in Sudan as one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory, with over ten million displaced and millions at risk of famine.

HRW has called for urgent intervention by the African Union and the UN to deploy a civilian protection force in Sudan.

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