UN reports public mass rapes in El Fasher
November 12, 2025 (EL FASHER) – Pramila Patten, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, said on Wednesday that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) committed public mass rapes in El Fasher, North Darfur State.
Immediately after capturing El Fasher on October 26, RSF fighters rushed to kill thousands of civilians en masse and execute patients inside the Saudi Hospital, including pregnant women, as part of a wide series of violations.
Pramila Patten said in a statement that “women and girls who managed to escape reported horrific violations at the hands of the RSF, including mass rapes and public gang rapes, both in El Fasher and during their journeys seeking refuge.”
She noted that women and girls in El Fasher and Bara, North Kordofan State, are not safe from the direct threat of conflict-related sexual violence and its long-term effects.
The RSF carried out a horrific revenge campaign against the residents of Bara after retaking the area on October 25, which included killings, execution of doctors, sexual violence, and forced displacement.
Pramila Patten stressed that sexual violence has been a feature of the conflict in Sudan, but the current scale and brutality of the violations in El Fasher are extremely shocking.
She condemned the RSF’s widespread and systematic use of sexual violence, calling on the forces’ commander, Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti,” to take immediate measures to prevent all acts of sexual violence, in accordance with commitments he issued.
On August 4, 2023, Hemedti issued orders to his forces prohibiting sexual violence, but they did not comply with his orders.
Legitimate demands
The Special Representative called for coordinating international efforts to support investigations and preserve evidence, and to ensure that victims’ voices are central to accountability processes aimed at ending impunity and restoring the rule of law.
She urged the United Nations Security Council to use all tools available to it to bring peace to Sudan, including considering additional punitive measures against those who order and commit sexual violence.
Pramila Patten demanded that the Sudanese government fulfill its international obligations regarding the prevention of and response to sexual violence in conflict.
She explained that the army has committed to cooperating with her office regarding the prevention of and appropriate response to allegations of sexual violence committed by some of its members.
Pramila stressed the need for the international community to keep this at the top of its priorities, and to mobilize all political, diplomatic, and financial support for the affected local communities, while strengthening the humanitarian response, meeting the urgent needs of victims of conflict-related sexual violence, and ending the war.
She reiterated demands to ensure aid access to medical centers, and to allow for the provision of protection, medical, and psychological services to victims of sexual violence, including clinical management of rape within the critical first 72 hours for HIV prevention and emergency contraception.
Most victims of sexual violence do not find timely treatment, as most health facilities have ceased operations, especially in active conflict zones.