The Underground

The brutal civil war that has been raging in Sudan for the past 18 months has no end in sight and a recent report from the UN has confirmed just how destructive this conflict has become. The report claims that both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Paramilitary group have committed war crimes in the form of severe human rights abuses. The report also indicates that the RSF in particular has carried out large scale sexual violence in areas that it controls. 

The RSF currently controls much of the South-West of the country including the Darfur region where their leader Hemedti (Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo) originates from. They also control the majority of the capital Khartoum. The UN report documents widespread sexual violence, RSF forces have carried out both rape and gang rape with reports of forced and child marriages also coming from both the Darfur region and Khartoum. Some women are said to held in conditions that could amount to sexual slavery. There have been reports of girls as young as 8 being subjected to these crimes. 

Laetitia Bader, Deputy Director for Africa at the Human Rights Watch claimed “The Rapid Support Forces have raped, gang raped, and forced into marriage countless women and girls in residential areas in Sudan’s capital”. She adds “The armed group has terrorized women and girls and both warring parties have blocked them from getting aid and support services”. The SAF have been accused of blocking aid from reaching those who most need it in Khartoum, a crime of which the RSF is also accused. Reports suggest that both sides have attacked healthcare workers, local first-responders and healthcare facilities, the Human Rights Watch have described these attacks as war crimes. 

The UN has also confirmed they are investigating “credible allegations” of sexual exploitations by the SAF.

The war between the RSF and the SAF has resulted in one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. A famine that has seen 25 million people face extreme hunger is now being followed by widespread diseases such as Cholera and Dengue Fever. Over 10 million people are said to have been displaced with over 7 million of them fleeing to neighbouring countries. Now with no signs of peace on the horizon and war crimes including sexual violence becoming more apparent by the day, it appears the international community has to step in to bring an end to the conflict and protect those who are most vulnerable.