Recent report reveals horrific details avbout sexual violence in Sudan
Jul 24, 2024
Story
Seeking
Conexiones

Nadra AlMahdi
Sudán
Mar 3
Joined Jan 22, 2009
A recent report reveals horrific details about sexual violence crimes in Gezira State Sudan.
Rape crimes committed by Rapid Support are a systematic method and are not individual cases
The regional official for the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa “Sayha”, Hala Al-Karib, confirmed that (250) cases of rape and sexual violence were documented throughout Sudan, including (75) documented cases in Gezira State in the period from December 2023 to April 2024. By the Rapid Support Forces.
Hala Al-Karib: The Rapid Support Forces committed war crimes in Al-Jazira State
CARP stated in a press conference yesterday, that sexual violence was used as a weapon against civilians by the Rapid Support Forces that invaded the state on December 21, 2023.
Al-Karib pointed out that (75) cases of rape and sexual violence were documented in Al-Jazeera State, committed by the Rapid Support Forces. She also spoke about unwanted pregnancies of girls and women in Al-Jazeera State, which were documented by doctors.
Al-Karib said: “When women are raped in an area, as happened in the state of Al-Jazira in Medina Arab, for example, the victims informed us that the perpetrators usually come again. Therefore, we advise them to leave immediately, and there are medical and psychological services provided to some victims.”
war crimes
She continued: " At the same time, we are talking about different types of systematic sexual violence practiced by the Rapid Support Forces in Al-Jazira State and other states."
Al-Karib said: “There are widespread information about cases of suicide, but we documented the case of a woman who refused to receive treatment, according to the statements of her family and the nurse who supervised her treatment, and after five days she died.”
Al-Karib believes that the Rapid Support Forces committed war crimes in Al-Jazira State through this report, which documented crimes of sexual violence and waves of gang rape in front of spouses, siblings, and neighbors. She adds: "These are war crimes, and we have seen how crimes of sexual violence were used in Kordofan and Darfur to displace populations, seize lands, and transform productive communities into displaced persons residing in camps. Sexual violence is a means to achieve these things and is now used in all cities and villages of Sudan by the Rapid Support Forces."
At the press conference, a human rights activist from Al-Jazira State spoke about the presence of (25) minors in the eastern Al-Jazira region who were subjected to unwanted pregnancies following rape by the Rapid Support Forces. She added: "This information was documented by a doctor who worked there."
Evacuation of a populated area
Al-Karib explained that Gezira State was inhabited before the RSF stormed at the end of last year, and there were about 6.5 million people, including two million displaced people, most of whom were from Khartoum State.
She pointed out that Al-Jazira State witnessed cases of forced recruitment of children and youth by the Rapid Support Forces, which seized resources and largely destroyed the infrastructure.
Adila, a member of the “Sayha” network, said: “Sexual violence is usually committed in secret, but in the state of Al-Jazira, this weapon was used by the Rapid Support in a systematic manner,” noting that sexual crimes were committed on the island in multiple locations, including during movement and traveling on buses. .
In the report published by "Sayha", it was stated that the Rapid Support uses several methods to control areas, including sexual violence following random shooting operations in neighborhoods and streets, and then soldiers storm homes.
The report added: “The Rapid Support’s control over a specific village or city depends in some cases on the method of negotiation between the residents and these forces. However, this method cannot be guaranteed to continue for a long time, as in many areas these forces committed sexual crimes and looting despite the existence of prior negotiations between them and Local people".
The report explained that the militiamen's priority is not to win the affection of the people in the areas under their control.
Gang rape
The report reflected some documented cases of gang rape, as a woman told the report team that her family’s home was raided by ten armed men from the Rapid Support Forces under the pretext that they were looking for regular soldiers. The woman recounts: “They threatened us with rape and said, ‘You do not have an army to protect you. We will use you however we want. Why didn’t you leave beforehand?’ After evening fell, we heard screams from our neighbor’s house. When we went, the soldiers raped the mother and her three daughters.”
In the devastated house, the mother and her daughters refused to leave the area, saying: “We were raped, what is the point of leaving now?” That is, the worst happened, the report adds.
The report highlighted a rape incident in the Medina Arab area on March 11, of a 38-year-old mother, along with two of her minor daughters, all of whom were raped by Rapid Support soldiers inside the house.
In another case, the report reported a rape incident that occurred in the city of Al-Hasahisa, located north of the city of Wad Medani, the capital of Al-Jazira State, where the Rapid Support Forces stormed the home of a displaced woman who works in selling tea and coffee. They did not find anything in the house suitable for stealing, so they beat and humiliated her 17-year-old daughter, and gang-raped her. This incident was painful and devastating for the family, and the rapists stole all the possessions of the humble house after the incident, while the family returned to Omdurman.
The report said that the Sayha Network received reports indicating that large numbers of people were forced to marry Rapid Support soldiers in the state of Al-Jazira, from March to last April, and that cases of sexual slavery and kidnapping of girls occurred during this period, including Wad Damani, the state capital. . In one of the cases documented in the “Sayha” network report, Rapid Support soldiers kidnapped a woman in the city of Al-Hasahisa in Al-Jazeera State and detained her for five days