African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies ACJPS | المركز الافريقي لدراسات العدالة و السلام
(12 December 2023) The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) has continued to document human rights violations committed by the warring parties in Sudan. Sexual violence within the context of the Sudan conflict has alarmingly escalated and demands urgent international attention. The conflict has tragically transformed into a war targeting women’s bodies, with a discernible pattern of SGBV. In this release, ACJPS has documented incidents and testimonies where 14 females including children from Utash and Kalma IDP camps in South Darfur were sexually violated by men in the uniforms of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Arab militia, and unidentified masked men.
ACJPS reiterates its calls to the Sudanese and local authorities to investigate the alleged rape to find and prosecute the perpetrators. A special prosecutor should be appointed to the case should the victims wish to proceed with a criminal prosecution. Local authorities must guarantee the victim’s protection from reprisal. ACJPS further calls on the Sudanese authorities to immediately put in place measures to protect civilians, especially the vulnerable groups in IDP camps during this armed conflict.
On 22 November 2023, Ms. Fatima (not real name) an IDP aged 17 years old and a resident of Center 2 in Kalma IDP camp in South Darfur was in the company of two other women moving from a farm located in the Ungongah area in the East of Belil locality when they were attacked by a group of three masked men. The men had lashes and sticks and started beating them. Luckily, the other two women managed to escape leaving Ms. Fatima.
“Left alone, I was immediately stripped naked and one of the men held my hands so I could not fight back. Amidst screams, I was raped by all the three men. Although they were wearing masks, I recognized that they were Arabs from their accents. After they had done the despicable act, they left but I stayed at the scene for a while before moving to the camp. I reached the camp at around 10:00 pm and immediately received medical attention because I had sustained injuries in my private parts. A few days later, I started experiencing difficulty and discomfort while passing urine,” Ms. Fatima painfully narrated to ACJPS.
On 7 July 2023, at around 05:00 pm, eight female IDPs aged between 17 to 21 whose identities have been concealed by ACJPS for protection were sexually violated. Five of the females resided in Center 8 while the other three were resident of Center 6 in Utash camp. The women, who have different jobs such as tea vending, house helping, waitress, etc often gathered in the yard in Almerikh near at Al-Matar also known as “Airport” neighborhood in Nyala, South Darfur State to move together as a group to Utash IDP camp located approximately 3 kilometers from the yard. On that fateful day, the women gathered and started moving to the camp. When they reached Factory Street, they found a checkpoint that had been mounted by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) next to the plastic Gallons factory. A group of approximately 10 armed men dressed in RSF uniforms then forcefully stopped them. At gunpoint, the women were taken inside the factory where they were raped.
On 4 July 2023, at around 06:00 pm at the valley located between the Alrayad neighborhood and neighborhood 17 in Nyala, South Darfur State, three armed men dressed in plain clothes stopped three women while on their way from their places of work in Almuashi market to Utash IDP camp where they resided. The women aged 23, 25, and 30 and residents of Centers 2 and 4 in Utash camp were sexually violated by the unidentified group.
On 21 May 2023, at around 10:00 am, two female IDPs from Center 3 in Utash camp in Nyala town went to a home belonging to an RSF officer in the Al-Matar/Airport neighborhood in Nyala where they worked as domestic workers. The women found the officer’s wife who had already prepared clothes that were to be washed and assigned them other house chores before heading out to the local market called Almalaga (a popular market for vegetables) located approximately one kilometer from the residence. Shortly after the officer’s wife had left, two armed men dressed in RSf uniform (suspected to be guards) entered the house and started interrogating the women asking questions like which tribe they belonged to and the women answered that they belonged to the Fur tribe.
“After questioning us, the men moved to one of the rooms, later returned, and asked us to have sex with them. When we resisted, one of them pulled out a knife and put it on my neck while another pointed his gun at my colleagues. Under duress, we moved to a guest room that was furnished with three single beds, a sofa, and a TV screen. We were raped and warned not to say a word about it. They also threatened to kill us if we did. After we had been violated, we resumed the house chores before heading back to the camp where we received medical attention,” one of the victims recollected
Background
Conflict-related sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) has increased during the ongoing armed conflict that erupted on 15 April 2023. SGBV was already a big problem in Sudan, especially in rural areas of Darfur where RSF, Sudanese army fighters, or other security forces attacked women with impunity however, the total lack of civilian protection currently means SGBV imaginable with no access to sexual violence services such as police and hospitals. Women and girls have been kept by their abusers for days without receiving medical attention. ACJPS has previously reported incidents where seven university students were kept in sexual slavery. On 29 November 2023, we also documented the rape and abductions of 69 victims in South Darfur. It is reported that fighters from various mainly Arab militias or the feared paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are raping women to intentionally impregnate them. Among the civilians, most in need of protection are the displaced people.
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