Khartoum: Amnesty International has accused Sudan's paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), of committing widespread sexual violence as part of their strategy in the ongoing civil war.
The rights group’s report, released on April 10, 2025, documents 36 cases of rape, gang rape, and other forms of sexual violence inflicted on women and girls, some as young as 15. These attacks occurred between April 2023 and October 2024 in four Sudanese states.
Amnesty stated that the RSF used these acts of violence to humiliate, control, and displace communities, describing them as war crimes and possible crimes against humanity.
The conflict began in April 2023 when the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) clashed for control of the country, exacerbating one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Despite the military retaking Khartoum in March 2025, Sudan remains deeply divided. The RSF's brutality has been particularly targeting civilians, especially women, as part of a strategy to assert dominance in the civil war.
Amnesty has called for the international community to intervene by stopping arms supplies to Sudan, pressuring the RSF to end sexual violence, and holding those responsible, including top commanders, accountable.
The report paints a horrifying picture of the violence, with testimonies from women who endured daily rapes, severe beatings, and forced sexual enslavement.
One survivor recalled being detained for 30 days and subjected to repeated rapes by RSF members. These atrocities highlight the cruel impact of the conflict on Sudanese women and girls, who bear the brunt of the violence despite not being participants in the war.
Background to the situation reveals that Sudan’s RSF, which had previously cooperated with the military to oust President Omar al-Bashir in 2019, split in April 2023, sparking the current conflict.
The RSF has also been accused of looting and other crimes against civilians during the war, which has displaced millions and killed tens of thousands. Despite international calls for peace talks, the situation remains dire, with no end in sight to the violence.
