19 women, including 2 pregnant, sexually assaulted by RSF in northern Sudan: Local medics

By Betul Yilmaz

ISTANBUL (AA) - Sudanese doctors reported on Sunday that 19 women, including two pregnant women, were sexually assaulted by the members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in northern Sudan.

The Sudan Doctors Network said in a statement on the US social media company X that the women were raped while fleeing from the city of El-Fasher, the capital of the North Darfur state now under RSF control, to Al-Dabbah in the Northern state.

“Two of the survivors are pregnant and are currently receiving special healthcare under the supervision of local medical teams,” the statement added.

The network condemned “the gang rape being perpetrated by the RSF against women escaping the horrors of El-Fasher,” stressing that direct targeting of women constitutes a blatant violation of all international laws.

It called on the international community and human rights groups to document RSF atrocities targeting civilians via sending independent investigative teams, to protect women and children along displacement and transit routes, and to create safe humanitarian corridors for women and children.

On Oct. 26, the RSF seized El-Fasher and was accused of committing massacres against civilians, causing displacement of more than 40,000 people, according to local and international reports.

The rebel group controls all five Darfur states out of Sudan’s 18 states, while the army holds most of the remaining 13 states, including the capital Khartoum.

The civil war between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has killed thousands of people and displaced millions of others.