Hundreds of women, girls missing in Sudan conflict, rights group Says
February 27, 2025 (KAMPALA) – More than 200 women and girls have been reported missing in Sudan since the start of the conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the Horn of Africa Regional Women’s Network (SIHA) said on Tuesday. The actual number is likely much higher, the group added.
The SIHA Network, in an online briefing, said it had documented 236 cases of missing women and girls, with 96 cases in Khartoum State and 79 in Al Jazirah State. The number of cases in Al Jazirah increased after an RSF attack in October 2024, with 45 additional cases recorded.
SIHA member Ma’ab Abdallah said that 89% of the reported cases, or 209 women and girls, remain missing. Only 27 (11%) have been found.
Many cases go unreported due to fear of reprisal, social stigma, and a lack of reporting mechanisms, Abdallah said, adding that the reported figures do not reflect the actual scale of enforced disappearances.
SIHA said it faced significant challenges in documenting cases, including difficulty accessing the phone numbers of missing individuals and families’ reluctance to share information, especially those residing in RSF-controlled areas. Social media posts about missing women were often deleted due to social stigma, SIHA added. Most reports came from urban areas.
The group documented cases of disappearances in Khartoum between April and May 2023. On May 28, 2023, the body of Hala Ahmed Ishaq was found in a looted car riddled with bullets; she had been shot in the head. In the same month, Insaf Surour Fadlallah’s body was discovered near a gas station. Initially, She was unidentified, and her family only located her after her photo was circulated on social media.
Witnesses told SIHA that women and girls had been detained in RSF-controlled areas of Khartoum’s Al-Riyadh district since April 24, 2023. Reports from May 2023 indicated sightings of handcuffed women and girls in RSF vehicles in Darfur.
SIHA said cases of disappearances spiked in November 2023, particularly in Jebel Aulia, with 14 cases documented in two days. The Sennar Youth Gathering reported 1,000 missing persons in Sennar State in June 2024 following an RSF incursion, including entire families, along with 14 additional cases of missing women and girls.
SIHA shared the story of Jihad Fadlallah Suleiman Nasir, a 30-year-old mother who disappeared in July 2023 while getting medicine for her child. She was last seen with a friend in an RSF vehicle. When contacted, the RSF member claimed he had dropped them off and warned the family not to contact him again. Unconfirmed reports later surfaced of clashes resulting in the deaths of two girls.
The network also documented cases of women and girls abducted in front of their families. Two sisters, aged 15 and 13, were kidnapped at gunpoint in Khartoum’s Al-Kalakla. SIHA received information that one girl was released after a ransom was paid. She had been held with 19 other girls who had been subjected to sexual violence; their decomposed bodies were later found.
SIHA said it had received credible reports of women being enslaved by the RSF in Khartoum, forced to cook, clean, and perform other services. Similar reports came from Wad Madani in Al Jazirah State.
Abdullah called for urgent action to protect missing women and girls and pressure for concrete steps to locate them. She urged measures to reduce enforced disappearances and ensure the immediate and safe return of all missing persons, especially women and girls.
During the briefing, Siham Ishaq Hassan shared the story of her daughter, Ruqaya Ibrahim, who disappeared on June 26, 2023, after leaving home to get ice during a power outage. The family searched hospitals, mosques, morgues, and markets without success. “We thought a stray bullet might have hit her,” Hassan said. “I contacted the RSF and the army, but to no avail.”