UN accuses RSF of kidnapping women, girls in Sudan

Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its militias kidnapped more than 160 women and girls who were detained under slavery-like conditions over the previous year, a new report from the United Nations revealed.

The Secretary-General’s report on conflict-related violence covering the period January to December 2023, was presented to the Security Council on Tuesday.

The Secretary General’s annually presented report did not, however, rule out the coercion of some women and girls to engage in prostitution or forced marriage, while in other cases, families paid a large ransom for the return of their members.

Advocacy groups such as Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) hinted on the sale of women kidnapped from Khartoum in areas of Darfur.

The UN said it had documented cases of conflict-related sexual violence, including rape, gang rape, abduction as well as trafficking committed against 98 women, 18 girls, a man and boy in 2023.

It reported that the cases occurred in the states of Khartoum, South and North Darfur, involving men wearing RSF uniforms mostly followed by members of its Arab militias, as well as unidentified armed men and army personnel.

The Secretary General’s report stressed that a small part of the victims of sexual violence submitting formal complaints demonstrates a lack of trust in the impunity-driven justice system and the absence of the state in conflict-affected areas.

Rights groups have documented 370 cases of rape by both parties to the conflict, with the largest proportion of cases attributed to the paramilitary group in Sudan.

However, the actual number is expected to be even higher due to the conservative nature of the community, which discourages reporting such crimes due to their association with concepts of honour.

The UN said humanitarian service providers supporting victims, including doctors, have received threats from parties to the conflict for reporting sexual violence.

Addressing the UN Security Council, Naamat Ahmadi, the president, and founder of the Darfur Women’s Working Group organization, recounted the story of 12-year-old girl Nora, who was gang-raped, leaving her in critical condition.

“Her family, struggling to survive, had to make an impossible decision to treat her or feed her younger brother, but Nora told her mother that she no longer wanted to live,” she said.

She spoke about women and girls being raped several times, sometimes in front of their parents, husbands or children in an attempt to destroy their dignity.

Meanwhile, 80% of hospitals and health facilities have been suspended in conflict zones of Sudan, limiting the ability of victims of sexual violence to receive treatment, as some cases have resulted in pregnant girls who have been raped.