Sudanese army, RSF detain women in ongoing conflict
May 19, 2025 (PORT SUDAN) – The Sudanese military is holding women in prisons across central and northern Sudan on accusations of cooperating with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), allegations a human rights defender says lack legal basis. The RSF has also transferred dozens of detainees, including women, to Darfur, he added.
Moiz Hadra, the human rights defender, told Sudan Tribune that “army intelligence is holding hundreds of women in prisons in Shendi, Atbara, and al-Damer in River Nile state, northern Sudan, and Wad Madani in al-Jazirah state, central Sudan, on charges of cooperating with the RSF.”
He added that the Ibn Malik Battalion, an army-allied group, is also detaining women in its centres in Omdurman, Khartoum state, under similar accusations.
The National Committee for Investigating Violations, led by Sudan’s Attorney General, has referred hundreds of individuals accused of collaborating with the RSF to the courts. Some have received death sentences or lengthy prison terms.
Hadra detailed that a “Security Cell,” a body comprising military, intelligence, and police elements, has been granted arrest and investigation powers. This cell is detaining women against whom lawsuits have been filed; some have been sentenced to death, while others await judgment or are in the appeal stage. He noted that even those whose convictions have been overturned on appeal have not been released.
The army has established checkpoints within cities and on travel routes, alongside patrols, to secure areas from infiltration, especially amid increasing RSF targeting of power stations and vital civilian facilities.
Hadra stated the charges against the detained women fall under articles of the Criminal Code pertaining to undermining constitutional order and inciting war against the state. He emphasized that these accusations lack a legal basis, and the trials do not meet fair trial standards due to the lack of defence. Lawyers attempting to defend these women are themselves being arrested by the Security Cell, deterring others from taking on such cases.
Regular forces face accusations of arresting individuals from Darfur and Kordofan without evidence of their cooperation with the RSF. Hadra revealed his organization has received information indicating the RSF has transferred hundreds of women to areas under its control in western Sudan, noting the difficulty in accurately counting the number of women held by the forces.
Human rights organizations believe the RSF is using rape as a weapon of war and a strategy to humiliate communities, given that more than half of documented cases involve gang rape.