Rights group documents rape of 12 women in RSF-held Bara
December 14, 2025 (EL-OBEID) – A rights group in Sudan’s North Kordofan state said on Sunday it had documented the rape of 12 women by members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the town of Bara.
The RSF seized Bara in late October, launching a reported campaign of retaliatory violence against civilians that included killings, sexual violence, looting, and forced displacement.
A member of the Gender Equality Network told the Sudan Tribune that the group verified the assaults occurred during the RSF’s invasion of the town. All victims are currently receiving treatment and sheltering in displacement camps within the state, she said.
The report corroborates earlier findings by the Preliminary Committee of the Sudan Doctors’ Union, which stated on November 6 that 11 women were treated at El-Obeid Teaching Hospital following sexual assaults in Bara.
A medical source at the hospital told the Sudan Tribune that the facility continues to receive between one and two victims of sexual violence from the area daily.
Health crisis deepens
Beyond the direct violence, the conflict has caused a severe health crisis for women and children.
Adiba Ibrahim El-Sayed, an internal medicine specialist and Doctors’ Union member, said six pregnant women suffered miscarriages due to psychological trauma and the physical strain of fleeing Bara on foot.
El-Sayed told the Sudan Tribune that 37 displaced pregnant women are suffering from anaemia and malnutrition, while 158 children are malnourished due to critical food shortages and a lack of healthcare. She appealed to international organizations to intervene to lift the “devastating siege” on the Kordofan region.
The violence in Bara is part of a broader escalation in Greater Kordofan, which has become a primary conflict zone since the RSF captured El Fasher in North Darfur on October 26.
The United Nations reported on December 4 that 269 civilians had died in Bara since the RSF takeover on October 25, attributing the casualties to airstrikes, artillery shelling, and summary executions.