Editor’s note: This story contains graphic and disturbing descriptions of sexual violence.
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One woman sleeps with a knife under her pillow in the hopes of protecting herself from armed men who might break into her house in the middle of the night; another woman was raped “repeatedly for days” along with her four daughters while her husband and sons were forced to watch; another was kicked out of the house and separated from her children after her husband found out she was pregnant as a result of the rape.
These are some of the horrific cases of sexual violence perpetrated against women and girls. Sudan The report details how the East African country’s warring parties, particularly the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), have continued to launch attacks on the capital, Khartoum, since fighting began last year. Key Reports from Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Since civil war erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and RSF rebels in April 2023, the SAF has been bombing civilian areas in an attempt to drive the RSF from their entrenched positions, reducing large areas of the city to rubble. The conflict has also spread to other parts of the country, including the western Darfur region.
The United Nations has described the situation in Sudan as “one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent history”, with more than six million Sudanese internally displaced, 1.5 million seeking safety abroad and some 26 million people – more than half the population – at risk of famine.
According to HRW’s 88-page report, “Khartoum is Not Safe for Women,” released on July 29, over the 15 months since the conflict began, women and girls in the capital, Khartoum, have suffered widespread rape, including gang rape, forced marriage and sexual enslavement.
“Rapid response forces raped, gang-raped, and forced marriages to countless women and girls in residential areas of Sudan’s capital,” said Laeticia Bader, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch.
“Armed groups are terrorizing women and girls and denying them access to assistance and support services from both sides, compounding the harm they face and making them feel that nowhere is safe,” she added.
CNN has reached out to both RSF and SAF for comment on the allegations contained in the HRW report.
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Smoke rises into the sky above houses in Khartoum during fighting in April 2023.
Editor’s note: This story contains graphic and disturbing descriptions of sexual violence.
Due to difficulties accessing Khartoum to speak directly with victims, HRW instead interviewed 42 health care workers, social workers and other responders between September 2023 and February 2024. Of these, 18 provided direct care to a total of 262 victims of sexual violence, aged between 9 and 60 years old.
One psychiatrist who supported more than 40 rape victims between April and November last year recalled one victim who discovered she was three months pregnant after being raped.
“She was clearly traumatized and shaking and fearful of her family’s reaction. She told me, ‘If they found out what happened to me, they would kill me,'” the psychiatrist said in the HRW report.
Another doctor described the ordeal of a woman who had been raped by several RSF fighters.
“When the woman’s husband found out she was pregnant, he kicked her out and took her children away. She was left on the streets,” the doctor said.
The woman had gone to the clinic seeking an abortion, but the director would not agree to it, the doctor recalled, and another hospital did not have an obstetrician available to perform the procedure.
“By the fourth month of pregnancy, we had to provide her with psychological support to help her accept her situation. It was the only option we had,” the doctor added.
“The physical, emotional, social and psychosocial scars left on victims are immeasurable,” the report said. Medical personnel described treating victims who “had debilitating injuries, including vaginal bleeding, bruising and other physical trauma as a result of the violence of rape and gang rape.” In at least four cases, these injuries proved fatal.
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In December 2023, displaced people fleeing Al Jazeera Governorate arrived in Gedaref.
The report mainly details acts of violence perpetrated by RSF forces, but says some survivors were afraid to report incidents involving SAF soldiers for fear that authorities would dismiss their claims.
HRW also criticized both sides for preventing a comprehensive response to gender-based violence. It said Saudi Arabia’s military had deliberately restricted the supply of humanitarian aid and had effectively blocked the flow of drugs into RSF-controlled areas of Khartoum since late last year.
The report said the RSF has also looted medical supplies and that some fighters “sometimes commit acts of sexual violence” against medical workers, with one medical worker recalling being told not to report cases of sexual violence to the UN.
“If that’s what you want, we can kill you right now. Just be careful and stop reporting us,” the fighter reportedly said.
CNN Previously reported RSF motion Murder, enslavement and sexual violence were carried out in secret. In an earlier statement to CNN, RSF strongly denied the allegations of rape and other atrocities.
The report’s authors said documented cases of sexual violence, forced marriage and deliberate attacks on health facilities and personnel were “serious violations of international humanitarian law” and amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Despite the severity of the toll, “there has been little meaningful regional or international response,” HRW said. It called on both sides to immediately stop attacks on medical facilities and workers and to allow aid into the conflict zone.
The report further said the UN Security Council should call on warring parties to end sexual violence and impose targeted sanctions against commanders and perpetrators responsible for atrocities.
