Over 100 rapes documented in North Darfur since January: Official

March 14, 2025 (EL FASHER) – More than 100 cases of rape of women and girls by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been documented in North Darfur since January, a state government official said on Friday.

On March 8, Sudan’s Combating Violence Against Women Unit reported 1,138 rape cases in areas controlled by the RSF between April 2023 and February 2025.

The security and humanitarian situation in El Fasher, the historical capital of the Darfur region, continues to deteriorate amid ongoing military operations between the army and its allied armed movements against the RSF. The RSF seeks to control the last strongholds of the central authority in the region.

North Darfur’s health ministry director general, Ibrahim Khatir, told Sudan Tribune in a statement that 118 cases of rape had been documented from January 2024 to mid-March.

He said 34 of the victims were minors under the age of 18.

Khatir confirmed 12 rape cases in the Jabal Hilla area, east of Um Kaddada, and in the Zamzam displaced persons camp during March.

He said 22 of the victims were pregnant, adding that he expected the actual number of rape cases to be higher due to underreporting because of the shame and social stigma attached to rape.