ALBAWABA - An investigation by New York-based NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW), revealed that Sudan's Rapid Support Forces have committed acts of sexual violence against women and girls in Khartoum.
The report documents cases of sexual violence, as well as forced and child marriage during the conflict, in Khartoum and other cities across Sudan. HRW obtained testimonies from women and girls saying they were being held captive by RSF in conditions that could amount to sexual slavery.
Laetitia Bader, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch, stated that "The Rapid Support Forces have raped, gang raped, and forced into marriage countless women and girls in residential areas in Sudan’s capital,".
The report included a testimony from a doctor working in Khartoum telling the story of a woman who was raped by multiple RSF members and eventually fell pregnant.
The doctor said that her husband abandoned her after finding out she was pregnant and took away her children. "When the woman found out she was pregnant, her husband expelled her and took away their children. She was left on the streets," the doctor said.
After many failed attempts for the woman to abort the baby, the doctor said that her pregnancy exceeded the four-month mark and was offered psychological support "so that she could accept the condition".
Conflict erupted in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF, a paramilitary group, and quickly spread throughout the country.
The RSF have established themselves in Khartoum's residential neighborhoods, occupying houses, businesses, and critical infrastructure, particularly healthcare institutions.
The RSF has perpetrated major violations of international humanitarian law in regions under its control, including widespread sexual and gender-based abuse, wrongful imprisonment and incarceration of people, and plunder.
