The ongoing civil war in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continues to claim hundreds of civilian lives, with the United Nations (UN) chief António Guterres calling the situation a “nightmare of violence” while addressing the UN Security Council.
Women paying the price of war
Eighteen months into the civil war, it is the women who have paid the most price. They are being subjected to a distressing amount of violence, including kidnap, rape, and sexual slavery in addition to the displacement due to war.
Multiple online reports say that women are resorting to suicide to escape sexual violence at the hands of Rapid Support Forces (RSF), where the militias reportedly massacred men and children by lining them up and shooting them.
According to the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan, the RSF is responsible for “sexual violence on a large scale”, and “gang-rapes and abducting and detaining victims in conditions that amount to sexual slavery”.
The UN mission reports first-hand records of rape of girls as young as eight years old to women as old as 75.
The report says women are subjected to punching, beatings with sticks and lashing, before and during the rape, which occur in front of their family members.
Scores of women are abducted and their remains are unknown, according to the report.
The women along with children, displaced in large numbers, also face issues including everything they need to survive – food, medical support and shelter.
RSF Massacre 124 in Central Sudan
Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia attacked Al-Sireha village in El Gezira State in the central region of Sudan on October 25, leaving at least 124 dead. Activists say that the attack followed as a revenge strike against the surrender of a high-ranking RSF officer Abuagla Keikal, to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
The massacre is considered one of the biggest acts of violence since the civil war began in April 2023. According to agencies, the Gezira state has witnessed a “months-long rampage,” with the RSF militia looting the homes, attacking and killing scores of civilians, displacing thousands.
Headlocked generals responsible for war
The civil war has now claimed the lives of more than 22,500 people, leaving more than 25 million people suffering from acute hunger, and more than 11 million civilians displaced.
The civil war started in April 2023 when the country’s most powerful generals had a fallout, which led to two army groups locking horns, leading to one of the biggest humanitarian crises of the 21st century.
Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the de facto ruler of Sudan and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, a former associate of Burhan are engaged in the armed conflict.
The conflict is reportedly fueled by foreign countries with conflicting interests, including the SAF being backed by Iran, and the RSF being funded by the UAE.
Highlighting the seriousness of the situation, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said “The suffering is growing by the day, with almost 25 million people now in need of humanitarian assistance.
Those responsible for war crimes must be held accountable,” he said, also stressing that the “direct or indirect flow” of arms and ammunition into Sudan “must cease immediately”.
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