Medical data suggests that non-Arab communities in Sudan are being systematically victimized through sexual violence as a weapon of war.
New evidence published by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) suggests an ethnic dimension to the wave of sexual violence currently sweeping through Sudan. The report details how members of the Zaghawa, Massalit, and Fur communities have been “systematically targeted” for atrocities during the nearly three-year conflict. Survivors identify fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as the primary perpetrators in Darfur, describing a campaign of humiliation designed to devastate specific ethnic groups.
The scale of the crisis is reflected in testimonies from 3,396 individuals who reached MSF clinics in North and South Darfur over a 23-month period ending in November 2025. Many reported “unimaginable brutality” during the RSF’s October 2024 offensive in el-Fasher and the surrounding displacement camps of Zamzam and Abu Shouk. While the RSF leadership has acknowledged “individual violations,” the report argues these are not isolated incidents but part of a wider pattern enabled by a climate of total impunity.
“The first man raped me twice, the second once, the third four times and the fourth once… they beat us with sticks and pointed guns at my head.”
Beyond the immediate physical trauma, the long-term demographic and psychological impact on non-Arab populations is profound. In South Darfur, where active fighting has subsided, 56% of documented rapes occurred during routine civilian activities like farming or fetching water. This persistent targeting ensures that even in “quiet” zones, the threat of sexual violence prevents a return to normal life for marginalized ethnic communities.
SOURCES: MSF International, Human Rights Watch (Sudan Chapter), UN Security Council Reports.
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