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July 22, 2024 (Kampala) – Hala Al-Karib, regional director of the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA Network), announced on Monday that out of 75 incidents of rape and sexual violence committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Al Jazira State, 14 were cases of unwanted pregnancies.
SIHA released a report on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) on Monday, titled “Al-Jazira State and Forgotten Atrocities,” detailing underreported violence against women in Al-Jazira since the RSF seized much of the state in December 2023.
The initiative has documented 250 cases of sexual violence across the country since the start of the war, including 75 cases in Al Jazira state between December and the end of April 2024, Karib said in a Zoom press conference.
A human rights activist in Al Jazira state who wished to remain anonymous revealed at a press conference that 25 underage girls became pregnant after being raped by the Rapid Support Forces, and their families did not know how to deal with the situation.
The anonymous activist added that the RSF’s crimes against women in Al Jazira governorate include exploitation, rape and kidnapping, and using sexual violence as a means to put pressure on families.
Three waves of sexual violence
The SIHA Network report outlines three different waves of sexual violence used by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to control areas it invaded in Al Jazira state.
The first wave of attacks relies on shock tactics, usually occurring within the first few hours or days of invading a town or region. This method is primarily used to establish dominance.
Soldiers usually start by firing in the air and then loot markets, shops, commercial centres, warehouses and important facilities such as banks if they exist before moving on to individual homes.
The report states that soldiers forcefully enter homes under the guise of searching for regular army soldiers or other combatants, and to further intimidate residents, they commit sexual violence against women and girls inside homes and frequently kill male family members, including men, young men and sometimes boys, who attempt to resist sexual assaults on women and girls.
The second wave occurs after the RSF invades an area and establishes a degree of control. During this phase, they often target women who are out in public. This includes health workers, informal sector workers, and women who have been abducted and forced into marriage. The RSF’s goal appears to be to ensure the coexistence and consent of the local population, using sexual violence as a tool to control and threaten the victims’ loved ones.
Furthermore, this approach suggests that “sexual violence has been used as a means to control and threaten the victims’ loved ones and ensure their compliance.”
The third wave, similar to the second, came after the Rapid Support Forces stabilized the area. The third wave targeted specific women, such as food and tea vendors and women in public places, with less negotiation and coordination with local residents.
This suggests that the Rapid Support Forces believe it can operate without local consent and resort to tactics such as reprisals, abductions and forced marriages targeting families.
Calling on RSF commander in Al Jazirah to take responsibility
Regarding accountability for crimes of sexual violence committed in Al Jazira governorate, the report stresses the urgent need to hold accountable Abu Akra al-Kikr, the governorate’s Rapid Support Forces commander, and other leaders who were directly involved in these egregious violations.
The report advocates for criminal prosecution of the Kikers through a UN-mandated special tribunal similar to the one set up to handle war crimes after the Rwandan genocide, saying the evidence clearly points to their responsibility for the atrocities.
The report also urges the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission to Sudan to engage more broadly with the local community, human rights defenders and witnesses in Al Jazira and to implement a targeted outreach programme.
In addition, the report calls for empowering and training women’s rights and human rights organizations to document and monitor human rights violations. This will enable these organizations to effectively cooperate with fact-finding missions and other investigative bodies.
Raising awareness of sexual violence in the Gezira canton, which is home to more than 6.5 million residents, including more than 1.5 million displaced persons, is hampered by a number of factors, including the rural nature of the canton, the lack of organized civil society groups within Gezira canton and the internet shutdown.
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