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**Content Warning: Distressing Details**
Reports from Sudan’s Gezira state reveal that several women have died by suicide after being sexually assaulted by paramilitary fighters in the country’s ongoing civil conflict, according to activists and rights groups. The accusations follow last week’s UN report condemning the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for “atrocious crimes,” including mass killings and widespread sexual violence.
With RSF forces advancing further, one rights organization said that they are in contact with six women who are contemplating suicide out of fear of sexual assault. The RSF, however, denies these allegations, calling them “unsubstantiated.”
The civil war, a fierce struggle between the RSF and the Sudanese army, has killed tens of thousands and displaced over 11 million since it erupted in April 2023. Cindy McCain, head of the UN World Food Programme, warned during a recent visit to Port Sudan that without a ceasefire, the country risks the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, potentially leading to millions of starvation deaths.
Hala al-Karib, head of the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (Siha), reported that RSF fighters began a “revenge campaign” after the defection of their local commander to the army, targeting civilians in Abu Kayka-controlled areas. Siha confirmed the suicides of three women in Gezira state over the past week, including one case in which a woman took her own life after being raped by RSF soldiers in front of her family, who were later killed.
Disturbing videos have circulated showing bodies wrapped in blankets, purportedly from an RSF massacre in the village of Al Seriha.The footage was taken in the courtyard of a local mosque. Communication challenges make it difficult to verify the extent of such tragedies across the dozens of affected villages.
An 80-page UN report released this week stated that 400 cases of conflict-related sexual violence had been documented in Sudan as of July 2024, but the true figure is likely much higher. The report documented victims ranging from eight to 75 years of age, many requiring urgent medical care amidst widespread destruction of hospitals.
Siha is providing psychological support to women in Gezira who fear RSF attacks and is coordinating efforts to relocate them to safer areas. They are also attempting to aid a 13-year-old girl who was gang-raped by RSF fighters and is currently in urgent need of medical attention.
