Sudanese paramilitaries have launched a devastating attack on the city of el-Fasher, resulting in at least 38 deaths, according to local activists. Amid ongoing violence, international rights organizations have raised alarm over widespread sexual violence attributed to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The local resistance committee, which coordinates aid efforts in el-Fasher, reported that the RSF targeted the heart of North Darfur’s capital with four high-explosive missiles. This assault followed a drone strike on the city’s Saudi Hospital on Friday, which left nine people dead and injured 20, forcing medical staff to suspend operations.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus condemned the attacks on healthcare facilities in Sudan as “deplorable” in a statement on social media. Since mid-April 2023, the RSF and Sudan’s army have been embroiled in a power struggle that has led to one of the worst humanitarian crises in the region, with tens of thousands killed and over 11 million displaced.
Currently, nearly all of Darfur is under RSF control, while the army maintains authority in the north and east, creating a complex and dangerous landscape for civilians. Rights groups have accused both factions of deliberately targeting civilians amidst the chaos.
On Monday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report detailing a disturbing surge in sexual violence amid the conflict, accusing the RSF and its allied groups of committing “heinous” acts that may amount to war crimes. The organization documented numerous cases of sexual violence, including gang rape and sexual slavery, affecting women and girls aged seven to 50 in South Kordofan since September 2023.
The report revealed that many victims were attacked in their homes, often in front of family members, while others were abducted and held in conditions resembling slavery. One survivor, a 35-year-old Nuba woman, recounted a harrowing experience where six RSF fighters stormed her family compound, killing her husband and son when they attempted to intervene. “They kept raping me, all six of them,” she described.
Another survivor, aged 18, described being taken along with 17 others to a base where they were held with 33 other women and girls, subjected to daily rapes and beatings for three months. Tom Fletcher, the UN’s humanitarian chief, warned last month of an “epidemic of sexual violence” against women in Sudan, emphasizing the urgent need for a global response. In November, HRW communicated its findings to RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo but did not receive a response.
