RSF accused of widespread rape, sexual slavery in South Kordofan

December 16, 2024 (NAIROBI) – Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters and their allied militias have committed widespread rape and sexual slavery against women and girls in Sudan’s South Kordofan state since September 2023, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday.

In a new report, HRW documented scores of cases of sexual violence, including gang rape, perpetrated by RSF fighters against women and girls, some as young as seven years old. The abuses took place in and around the town of Habila and at an RSF base, with victims also from the town of Fayu.

“Survivors described being gang raped, in front of their families or over prolonged periods of time, including while being held as sex slaves by RSF fighters,” said Belkis Wille, associate crisis and conflict director at HRW. “These acts of sexual violence constitute war crimes and may constitute crimes against humanity.”

The report, based on interviews with 70 displaced people in the Nuba Mountains region, includes testimony from seven rape survivors. One survivor reported being held with 50 other women and girls, subjected to repeated rape over three months.

HRW said the attacks often occurred in the victims’ homes, sometimes after the killing or threatening of family members. The rights group also documented cases where women and girls were abducted and taken to RSF bases, where they were held in conditions of enslavement and subjected to systematic sexual violence.

“This research highlights what we have been hearing for some time now about the magnitude of sexual violence in Sudan, with the RSF coming into homes and raping women and girls time and again,” Wille said. “Yet so far, Sudanese victims have barely had access to services, let alone redress or meaningful efforts to stop these horrific crimes.”

These findings corroborate a recent UN report that concluded the RSF is committing sexual violence on a large scale in Sudan, including multiple incidents of sexual slavery. HRW previously documented similar abuses by the RSF in Darfur in 2023 and in Khartoum and neighbouring cities since fighting erupted between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in April 2023.

HRW called for urgent international action, urging the UN and African Union to deploy a mission to protect civilians in Sudan with a mandate to address sexual violence. The rights group also called for increased support for the UN fact-finding mission to ensure accountability for these crimes.