“Tragic Impact of Civil War: Women in Sudan Take Their Lives After Rape by Paramilitary Forces”

Several women in Sudan’s central Gezira state have tragically taken their own lives after being raped by paramilitary fighters amid the ongoing civil war, according to reports from rights groups and activists.

These accounts emerge following allegations by the UN that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have committed “atrocious crimes,” including mass killings, in the state over the past week.

As RSF fighters continue their advance, one rights organization informed that it is in contact with six women contemplating suicide due to their fear of sexual assault.

The RSF has denied the recent UN report attributing the increase in sexual violence to its fighters, claiming the accusations “lack evidence.”

The brutal struggle for power between the army and RSF has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and displaced over 11 million people since the conflict erupted in April 2023.

Cindy McCain, head of the UN World Food Programme, visited Port Sudan this week and warned the BBC that the country could face the largest humanitarian crisis in history if a ceasefire is not achieved, cautioning that millions may die from starvation.

Reports of paramilitary fighters rampaging in Gezira come after Abu Aqla Kayka, the RSF’s top commander in the state, defected to the army.

Hala al-Karib, head of the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (Siha), told the BBC that the RSF initiated a revenge campaign in areas previously controlled by Kayka, looting, killing civilians, and raping women and young girls.

Siha, which has been documenting gender-based violence during the war, confirmed three recent suicides in Gezira state, with two occurring in the village of Al Seriha and another in the town of Ruffa.

A sister of one suicide victim revealed that the woman took her life after being raped by RSF soldiers in front of her father and brother, who were subsequently killed.

Online videos have surfaced in recent days, reportedly showing numerous bodies wrapped in blankets, linked to an alleged RSF massacre in Al Seriha. BBC Verify has confirmed that this footage corresponds to the courtyard of a mosque in that village.

The reported suicides stem from just two of approximately 50 villages that have recently been attacked, and the actual number could be higher due to patchy mobile communications, Ms. Karib noted.

A female activist from Gezira, who chose to remain anonymous for her safety, stated she had confirmed accounts of women taking their own lives after their husbands were killed by the RSF. She cited WhatsApp messages from one woman whose sister committed suicide after being raped by RSF militiamen, who also murdered five of her brothers and several uncles in Al Seriha.

However, as with Siha, she acknowledged the difficulty in verifying social media accounts of alleged mass suicides among women fearing rape due to ongoing communication issues.

A recent 80-page UN report indicated that at least 400 survivors of conflict-related sexual violence have been documented since the start of the conflict, with the actual number likely being much higher.

“The scale of sexual violence we have documented in Sudan is staggering,” stated Mohamed Chande Othman, the UN chair of the panel that compiled the report.

The victims range in age from eight to 75 years, many of whom require medical attention, though most hospitals and clinics have been destroyed amid the fighting, according to the UN.

RSF spokesperson Nizar Sayed Ahmed told the BBC that the accusations against the group are false and lack evidence. “To find out the facts on the ground, the UN must send a fact-finding team to Sudan,” he stated.

Ms. Karib mentioned that Siha is working to maintain contact with the six women fearful of the RSF’s advance and contemplating suicide, providing them with psychological support while activists explore options to relocate them to safer areas.

Additionally, they are trying to assist a 13-year-old girl who was gang-raped by RSF fighters in Gezira and urgently needs medical care. The girl is currently traveling from her home village north of Ruffa to the town of New Halfa and is bleeding profusely, according to Ms. Karib.