Sudanese Doctors Document Dozens of New Rape Cases in El-Fashir Within One Week

The Sudan Doctors Network said on Sunday that it had documented around 32 confirmed cases of rape within a single week involving girls from the city of El-Fashir, the capital of North Darfur State, following the Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) militia takeover of the city.

In a statement, the Network reported that its team, relying on credible medical and field information, had verified 32 confirmed rape cases over the course of a week among girls from El-Fashir who had arrived in the Tawila area. It noted that some of the assaults occurred inside El-Fashir after the militia stormed the city, while others were carried out as the victims attempted to flee toward Tawila.

The Network condemned what it described as systematic rape operations perpetrated by RSF members against women in El-Fashir and against those fleeing the violence, stressing that these violations constitute flagrant breaches of international humanitarian law and amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

It held the RSF militia fully responsible for these crimes and called for an urgent and independent international investigation, immediate protection for survivors and witnesses, and unrestricted access for medical and humanitarian organizations to provide treatment as well as psychological and legal support.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), at least 25 women were reportedly subjected to gang rape inside a displacement shelter near El-Fashir University, where militia members selected women at gunpoint and sexually assaulted them, forcing hundreds of families to flee amid gunfire.