UN reports rampant rape, war crimes as Sudan conflict rages on

A situation report from the UN Human Rights Office paints a grim picture of the armed conflict in Sudan, highlighting a devastating toll on civilians, with thousands killed and millions displaced.

The report released Friday notes the victimisation of dozens, including children, by rape and other forms of sexual violence perpetrated by both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, expressed the gravity of the situation, stating, “For nearly a year now, accounts coming out of Sudan have been of death, suffering, and despair, as the senseless conflict and human rights violations and abuses have persisted with no end in sight.”

The report details multiple indiscriminate attacks in densely populated areas, including Khartoum, Kordofan, and Darfur, between April and December 2023.

Individuals in SAF uniforms potentially beheaded students in North Kordofan State in a recent video reviewed by the UN Human Rights Office. The victims, perceived to be RSF supporters based on ethnicity, faced a gruesome fate. Troops paraded with decapitated heads while chanting ethnic slurs in a video posted on social media on February 15, 2024.

The report, based on interviews with 303 victims and witnesses, sheds light on the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects, such as missiles, drones, anti-aircraft weapons, and artillery shells, in densely populated areas. The consequences have been dire, with eight missiles fired by the SAF in Khartoum resulting in at least 45 civilian deaths in April.

In Darfur, the RSF carried out ethnically motivated attacks, leading to thousands of deaths, particularly within the African Masalit ethnic community. Between May and November 2023, at least 10 attacks against civilians in El-Geneina, West Darfur, resulted in mass casualties.

The report also uncovers killings by the RSF and its allies in Morni and Ardamata, with at least 87 bodies buried in a mass grave.

The scale of displacement is staggering, surpassing eight million people by mid-December 2023, both within Sudan and in neighbouring countries. The number has since increased, highlighting the urgent need for humanitarian aid to alleviate the suffering of millions.

Seif Magango, regional spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office, drew attention to the escalating humanitarian crisis, stating, "The number of displaced people (in Sudan) has now crossed the 8 million mark, which should be of concern to everyone."

The report also exposes a disturbing increase in sexual violence, with at least 118 people, including 19 children, subjected to rape, gang rape, and attempted rape by RSF members. The victims face immense challenges in reporting these crimes due to stigma, distrust of the justice system, and fear of reprisals.

The report further cites the recruitment of child soldiers by both the SAF and RSF, further highlighting the grave violations of international standards. The “People’s Authority to Support the Sudanese Armed Forces,” a pro-SAF entity, claims to have armed 255,000 young men in camps across Sudan.

The RSF reportedly recruited children from Arab tribes in Darfur and Kordofan. African ethnic communities, including the Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa, responded to recruitment campaigns by the SAF.

Türk emphasised the severity of these violations, describing some as war crimes.

"There must be prompt, thorough, effective, transparent, independent, and impartial investigations into all allegations.”

The UN Human Rights Office also highlighted the urgent need for both parties to ensure rapid and unimpeded access to humanitarian aid in areas under their control.

The report emphasises the continuing ravages of war beyond the reviewed period, with the international community facing a critical moment in helping to end the crisis, providing essential support to victims, and ensuring perpetrators are punished.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, speaking in early February, emphasised the futility of a military solution and called on rival generals to engage in talks to end the conflict.

"Continued fighting will not bring any solution, and we must end it as soon as possible," he said.