Rape and sexual violence remain "part of everyday life" in Sudan's civil war even after fighting has moved elsewhere, according to a comprehensive new report by the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The report describes sexual assault as a "defining feature" of the conflict, overwhelmingly perpetrated by armed men and often accompanied by acts of brutality and humiliation.
The report, the most detailed account to date on sexual violence in Sudan's nearly three-year war, is based on testimonies from 3,396 victims treated at MSF-supported facilities across North and South Darfur between January 2024 and November 2025. While both the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are accused of sexual violence, Darfur—the RSF stronghold—saw the vast majority of perpetrators identified by survivors as RSF fighters.
Many cases documented occurred during the RSF's 2024 takeover of displaced persons camps in Zamzam and Abu Shouk, and the city of el-Fasher in October, which MSF calls "one of the most shocking iterations, unfolding the most unimaginable brutality." Attacks frequently involved multiple rapists and included other extreme violence, such as beatings or the murder of relatives.
The report reinforces accounts of an ethnic dimension to the violence, stating that non-Arab communities like the Zaghawa, Massalit, and Fur were "systematically targeted" in these atrocities. The RSF leadership has admitted "individual violations" during the el-Fasher takeover but claims these are under investigation and that the scale of atrocities was exaggerated.
Sexual violence does not subside after front lines shift, sustained by a heavily militarized environment, entrenched gender inequalities, and a pervasive sense of impunity among perpetrators. In South Darfur, far from active conflict zones, rape has become part of daily life. According to the report, over 1,300 survivors (56% of those seeking help at MSF clinics in the state) were assaulted while performing routine activities like collecting firewood or water, working in fields, or traveling to farms.
One in five survivors of sexual assault in South Darfur was under 18 years old, with 41 of them under the age of five. MSF warns that its data represents only a fraction of the true scale of abuse, citing significant barriers to care such as ongoing insecurity, displacement, intense stigma, and the absence of functioning protection services.
The medical charity criticizes the humanitarian system for failing to respond to survivors' needs and calls for accountability and urgent action. The report underscores the deep-rooted nature of sexual violence in Darfur's long history of conflict, highlighting how it persists as an insidious threat to communities even in areas no longer on the front lines.
Source: www.bbc.com