Sudan’s RSF and allies have sexually abused victims aged 8-75, UN mission says

Geneva —

Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allies engaged in “staggering” levels of sexual abuse, raping civilians as troops advanced and kidnapping some women as sex slaves during more than 18 months of war, a UN mission said on Tuesday.

According to the report of the UN investigative mission, the age of the victims ranges from eight to 75 years; Most sexual violence is committed by the RSF and allied Arab militias to terrorize and punish people for perceived links to enemies.

“The magnitude of sexual violence we have documented in Sudan is staggering,” mission chief Mohamed Chande Othman said in a statement accompanying an 80-page report based on interviews with victims, families and witnesses.

The report echoed investigations by Reuters and human rights groups into widespread sexual abuse in the conflict.

RSF, which is fighting the Sudanese army, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He has previously said he would investigate the allegations and bring the perpetrators to justice.

The paramilitary RSF has its roots in the Janjaweed militia, which helped the army suppress an insurgency in Sudan’s western Darfur region two decades ago.

In the current conflict, the RSF has taken control of much of Sudan, including West Darfur, where it is accused of carrying out ethnic massacres against the Masalit people with the help of Arab militias.

The UN mission said racial slurs against non-Arabs were widely used during sexual attacks in parts of West Darfur state, indicating a targeting of ethnicity.

Do not impregnate by force

In the report, a victim from El Geneina in West Darfur said her rapist told her at gunpoint: “We will make you, Masalit girls, give birth to Arab children.”

In another case, a West Darfur woman was reportedly held captive by RSF guards for more than eight months and was impregnated by her main kidnapper during repeated rapes.

In the other four incidents, women were taken from the street, beaten and raped, then released or left unconscious on the street. Victims said the perpetrators often wore RSF uniforms or scarves that concealed their faces.

The report stated that fewer cases of sexual violence involving the Sudanese military had been documented and further investigation was warranted. He also said there were credible reports that both warring sides were recruiting child soldiers.

Last month, the panel found that both the army and the RSF committed gross abuses, such as torture and arbitrary detentions.

Although Sudan’s war has been pushed out of global headlines by the Ukraine and Gaza conflicts, it has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, with thousands killed, more than 11 million displaced, widespread hunger and intervention by foreign powers.