Sudan's RSF linked to sexual violence

KHARTOUM - The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been linked to widespread cases of sexual violence in Sudan, which could further question their suitability to negotiate with transitional leadership as the country battles to form a Government of National Unity.

The Human Rights Watch has published several cases of rape and sexual abuse directly linked to RSF members as the civil war in Sudan enters the fifth year without concessions from all protagonists.

The report states that RSF gunmen roamed the capital, sexually assaulting "women and girls, some as young as nine". The force has been at loggerheads with the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) who took over from the transitional authority.

Gunmen from a notorious militia roamed Sudan's capital gang-raping "countless" women and girls, some as young as nine, according to an investigation documenting the shocking prevalence of sexual violence in Khartoum during the country's civil war.

Some of the attacks by members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were so brutal that women and girls died "due to the violence associated with the act of rape", according to research by Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Addis Standard reports.

Human Rights Watch has urged the African Union and United Nations to deploy a civilian protection force to prevent further war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan. The African Union has yet to send peacekeeping forces to the country

The report also accuses soldiers from the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) of committing sexual violence, although to a lesser extent than the RSF. Both parties are fighting to control the northern African nation.

GAROWE ONLINE