Sudan probe logs 1,392 rapes, forced marriages amid RSF abuses
May 24, 2025 (PORT SUDAN) – A committee investigating violations of national and international humanitarian law in Sudan announced Saturday it has documented 1,392 complaints of sexual violence, including mass rape and forced marriage.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) committed grave abuses while controlling Khartoum, Gezira and Sennar states. These included rape, looting, mass killings and humiliation to force local communities to accept their presence.
Rawda Idris Abdel Qadir, a senior prosecutor and member of the investigating committee, told a seminar in Port Sudan, eastern Sudan, that the “committee recorded 1,392 cases of sexual violence, mass rape and forced marriage.”
She added that the registered complaints represent less than 2% of actual violations.
Sudanese people are often reluctant to report sexual violence and rape due to fear of social stigma. This shame has led some girls and women who experienced these crimes to commit suicide, while others have fled their families.
Idris reported that the committee received 120,376 violations-related complaints since the war began on April 15, 2023. These include attacks on government institutions, looting of banks and hospitals, their use as military barracks, assaults on women and children, forced starvation and displacement.
She also said the committee documented the looting of 540,000 civilian homes and agricultural projects, aimed at starving citizens and displacing workers, in addition to attacks on 36 prisons and the release of inmates.
The committee, chaired by the Attorney General, has referred dozens of cases to courts, mostly concerning cooperation with the RSF. This comes amid complaints that some courts do not meet fair trial standards.
Al-Faki Al-Dhaw, supervisor of the inquiry and investigation committee, urged women who suffered abuses by RSF elements to report them to the National Committee for Investigating Crimes and Violations of National and International Humanitarian Law.
He affirmed that the committee guarantees the confidentiality of legal procedures, acknowledging that Sudanese society’s nature resists reporting sexual crimes due to fear of social stigma.
He explained the committee has worked to reach victims in their locations. A team of female prosecutors and police officers specializing in violence against women, children and families are working in displacement centres in Port Sudan to receive complaints and take legal action.
Al-Dhaw stressed that women are the most affected segment of society by these violations, with the RSF committing systematic sexual violence, sexual exclusion and forced displacement against them.
The committee’s tasks include documenting violations and crimes committed by RSF elements since the conflict began. It also has the authority to summon individuals for investigation and bring them to court.
International litigation efforts continue
The committee for establishing and pursuing international lawsuits against the RSF, its leaders and supporting countries held a meeting chaired by Justice Minister Othman Mohamed Khair.
According to the Sudan News Agency (SUNA), the committee discussed procedures for the complaint filed with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.
The ICJ dismissed a lawsuit filed by Sudan against the United Arab Emirates (UAE), over its alleged complicity in the genocide committed by the RSF against the Masalit ethnicity in West Darfur, citing lack of jurisdiction.
The committee stated it reviewed the regional and international negotiation plan against the RSF, its leaders and supporting countries. It also tasked a small subcommittee with gathering evidence, including the recent aggression against Port Sudan.
Port Sudan, on the Red Sea coast, was subjected to drone attacks targeting military bases and civilian sites, including the city’s international airport, seaport, power station, fuel storage facilities and a hotel housing diplomats.
The European Union (EU) stated the attacks on Port Sudan were carried out with external support. The Sudanese government accused the UAE of providing the drones and foreign crews operating them to the RSF.