Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias of committing widespread sexual violence in southern Sudan, labelling their actions as war crimes. The allegations come during an ongoing 20-month conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces, which has created what is described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
In its report released Monday, HRW documented dozens of cases involving women and girls aged between seven and 50 in South Kordofan state. The abuses, which occurred from September 2023 onwards, include gang rape, sexual slavery, and attacks on ethnic Nuba civilians.
One survivor, a 35-year-old Nuba woman, recounted being gang-raped by six RSF fighters after they killed her husband and son. Another, an 18-year-old, described being abducted with 17 others and held for three months in a base where women and girls were chained and subjected to daily sexual violence.
South Kordofan has been a hotspot of violence, with RSF and allied Arab militias targeting civilians, particularly members of Sudan’s Christian minority. The RSF has clashed with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), a rebel group controlling parts of the state, as well as government forces.
The conflict in Sudan has displaced over eight million people internally and forced more than three million to flee to neighbouring countries, according to the UN.
In October, the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan accused both warring sides of abuses, but singled out the RSF for sexual violence on a large scale. HRW and other groups have called for the urgent deployment of a UN and African Union mission to protect civilians.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher recently highlighted an “epidemic of sexual violence” in Sudan, urging the global community to take action.
