Women in El-Obeid describe alleged RSF sexual violence in Sudan conflict
Women displaced by the war in Sudan and now living in a camp in El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, have told Africanews they were raped by members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in front of their children before fleeing their homes. Their accounts add to a mounting body of testimonies describing sexual violence linked to the conflict.
According to Africanews, the women said the assaults took place during their flight from areas contested between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). North Kordofan has been among the central Sudanese states drawn into fighting since war broke out in April 2023 between the country’s two main military formations, triggering a humanitarian crisis the United Nations has described as among the worst in the world.
El-Obeid, a longstanding trading hub southwest of Khartoum, has absorbed large numbers of people escaping rural parts of Kordofan and adjacent regions. Local authorities and aid agencies have struggled to meet the needs of those arriving, with shortages of food, water and medical care reported across many of the makeshift settlements around the city.
The broader conflict pits General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the SAF and de facto ruler, against his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, who commands the RSF. Several international monitors and rights organisations have documented widespread allegations of sexual violence committed during the fighting, much of it attributed to RSF fighters in areas they control.
The testimonies gathered in El-Obeid underscore the particular dangers faced by women and girls caught up in the war. Aid workers in North Kordofan have warned that survivors often arrive at displacement sites with little access to medical or psychological care, leaving their accounts among the most difficult consequences of the conflict to address.
Sources
This report was written from coverage published by the following news organisations. Follow the links for the original reporting.
- Africanews — Women in El-Obeid testify to rape during Sudan conflict
- africanews.com — Women in El-Obeid testify to rape during Sudan conflict
