Sudan Events – Follow-ups
Regional Director of the Strategic Initiative for Women of the Horn of Africa “Sayha”, Hala Al-Karb, revealed on Monday 14 cases of unwanted pregnancies out of 75 cases of rape and sexual violence committed against women by the Rapid Support Forces RSF in Gezira state in central Sudan.
“Sayha” issued a report on Monday on conflict-related sexual violence, entitled: “Gezira state, Where the Forgotten Atrocities”, in which it revealed violations by the Rapid Support Forces RSF in Gezira Ssate after storming most of its parts at the end of last year.
Al-Karb said, in a press conference via Zoom, that the initiative documented 250 cases of sexual violence across the country since the outbreak of the war, including 75 cases in Gezira state that occurred between December and April.
The Sayha Network report spoke about three types of sexual violence methods adopted by the Rapid Support Forces RSF to ensure control over the areas it invades in Gezira state.
The first pattern, according to the report, is primarily based on shock, and often occurs in the first hours or days of a town or area being overrun, and is linked to imposing control.
He added that soldiers usually fire into the air and begin looting, starting with markets, shops, malls, warehouses and vital facilities such as banks if they exist, and then moving to homes one by one.
The report indicated that they forcefully enter homes to search them for soldiers of the regular forces or other fighters, as they claim, adding, “Then, to further terrorize, they use sexual violence on women and girls inside houses, accompanied by the killing of family members, men and young men, and sometimes boys, if they intervene to resist the sexual assault on women and girls.”
The second pattern, according to the report, occurs after the Rapid Support Forces RSF invade an area after ensuring control, indicating that sexual violence at this stage involves ongoing negotiations with the local population.
The report continued, “This pattern often includes kidnappings, forced marriages, or exchanging girls for money paid by Rapid Support Forces RSF to families who do not have the right to refuse.”
According to the report, the third pattern is somewhat similar to the second pattern, as it occurs following the establishment of the Rapid Support Forces RSF in the area, explaining that it involves targeting specific women such as food and tea vendors and women in public spaces, a pattern accompanied by less negotiation and coordination with the local population.
The report added that the Rapid Support Forces RSF militia at this phase feels that it has a greater ability to conduct its business without the consent of the local population and therefore does not need to negotiate, so this pattern includes acts of revenge targeting families, kidnappings, forced marriages, or targeting specific women.
In the context of the responsibilities for the crimes of sexual violence committed in Gezira , the report affirmed the need to hold accountable the commander of the Rapid Support Forces RSF in the state, Abu Aqla Keikal, and other leaders directly responsible for these horrific violations occurring in the state.
The report considered that Keikal should be held criminally accountable under a special criminal court established under the authority of the United Nations UN such as the Special Criminal Court established in the wake of the Rwandan massacres to look into war crimes and atrocities committed by the Rapid Support Forces RSF in Gezira state and other states of Sudan, noting that the evidence clearly shows their responsibility for these atrocities and war crimes. The report also urged the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission in Sudan to reach out to more local communities, human rights defenders and witnesses from Gezira and to allocate special awareness programs.
