AI: RSF Crimes Constitute War Crimes and Possibly Crimes against Humanity
Nairobi – Sudanhorizon
Amnesty International (AI) has released a new report detailing atrocities committed against Sudanese women. These atrocities and crimes, the report describes as reflecting the horrific and widespread use of sexual violence by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), shattering the lives of many a woman in the Sudan.
According to the report, released on April 10, 2025, the RSF has perpetrated widespread sexual violence against women and girls throughout Sudan’s two-year civil war, with the aim of humiliating them, imposing control, and displacing communities across the country.
The report describes the violations and assaults committed by the RSF against Sudanese women and girls as horrific, morally wicked, and intended to inflict the ultimate humiliation.
According to an Amnesty International report, the atrocities committed by the RSF, which included rape, gang rape, and sexual slavery, “constitute war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity.”
The report, “They Raped Us All: Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls in Sudan,” documents the rape or gang rape of 36 women and girls as young as 15 by Rapid Support Forces soldiers, along with other forms of sexual violence, in four Sudanese states between April 2023 and October 2024.
The report cites examples of abuses such as the rape of a mother after her infant was snatched from her, the 30-day sexual slavery of a woman in Khartoum, severe beatings, torture with hot liquids or sharp blades, and murder.
The report quoted Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Regional Impact Director as stating that the Rapid Support Forces’ attacks on Sudanese women and girls are horrific, morally depraved, and aimed at inflicting ultimate humiliation. These forces have targeted civilians, particularly women and girls, with unimaginable brutality during this war. The international community must act to stop the atrocities committed by the Rapid Support Forces by embargoing arms flows to Sudan, pressuring the leadership to end sexual violence, and holding perpetrators, including senior commanders, accountable.
– Victims unanimously identify perpetrators as members of the Rapid Support Forces.
The organization says that to prepare this report, it interviewed 30 people, the majority of whom were survivors and their families in refugee camps in Uganda. All survivors and witnesses identified the perpetrators as RSF fighters. The use of sexual violence by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) throughout the conflict across Sudan, along with many attacks occurring in the presence of other soldiers, victims, and civilians, suggests that perpetrators felt no need to conceal their crimes and were not afraid of any retaliation.
The report’s authors say that the RSF did not respond to Amnesty International’s request for comment on these crimes.
– “The most horrific day in my life”
All the survivors of sexual violence we interviewed described how the assault caused significant physical or psychological harm and had devastating effects on their families, all of whom subsequently fled their homes.
In Nyala, South Darfur, RSF soldiers tied a woman to a tree before one of them raped her, while others watched. “It was the most horrific day of my life,” the woman said.
In Madani, Gezira State, three RSF soldiers gang-raped a woman in front of her 12-year-old daughter and her sister-in-law. “It was so humiliating,” the woman said. “I feel devastated.” “The Rapid Support Forces’ attacks on civilians are a disgrace and a mark of cowardice,” said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Regional Impact Director.
“Any state that supports the Rapid Support Forces, including by supplying them with weapons, is complicit in this disgrace.”
The report noted that several survivors confirmed that RSF soldiers raped them on suspicion of their links to the Sudanese Armed Forces. Medical workers said that RSF soldiers raped them when they were unable to rescue wounded soldiers.
In one case, a nurse said that 13 soldiers abducted her in northern Khartoum and forced her to treat seriously injured men before gang-raping her, leaving her unconscious.
Amnesty International found two cases of sexual slavery in Khartoum, including one woman who said RSF soldiers held her captive in a house for a month, where they raped her almost daily. Survivors said that anyone who resisted rape was subjected to beatings, torture, other ill-treatment, or even murder, including an 11-year-old boy who was beaten to death by a Rapid Support Forces soldier while trying to help his mother.
– The abuses are the tip of the iceberg.
“The scale of sexual violence perpetrated by the Rapid Support Forces is unimaginable, but the documented cases among refugees represent only a small fraction of the abuses likely committed by the Rapid Support Forces,” Deprose Muchena added. “The RSF’s attacks on civilians are shameful and cowardly, and any state that supports the RSF, including by supplying them with weapons, is complicit in this shame.”
– “Deeply reprehensible” response
The world’s response has been equally shameful, with victims and survivors denied access to healthcare and justice.
No survivor has been able to access timely care after being raped or report the attacks to Sudanese authorities due to ongoing fighting or fear of stigma and retaliation. Some of them suffer from kidney pain and infertility.
Irregular menstrual cycles, difficulty walking, or long-term psychological trauma. Children who witnessed the rape of their relatives also suffer from persistent nightmares.
All survivors reported that their priority was obtaining medical treatment for injuries, diseases transmitted to them by the Rapid Support Forces, or health problems that arose during their detention. However, due to cuts to vital programs funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), access to comprehensive sexual health care has declined.
Survivors also demanded justice and accountability. A woman who was raped in Omdurman said, “Women are not the ones leading or participating in this war, but they are the ones suffering the most. I want the whole world to know about the suffering of Sudanese women and girls and to ensure that all the evildoers who raped us are punished.”
“The international response to the suffering of Sudanese women and girls has been utterly reprehensible,” Deprose Muchena concluded.
“The world has failed to protect civilians, provide adequate humanitarian assistance, or hold perpetrators accountable for these crimes. It is time for people and governments around the world to uncover the truth about what happened in Sudan, hold suspected perpetrators accountable, and provide reparations and comprehensive healthcare.”
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