Infants Abducted, Elderly Raped in Sudan War, Women’s Rights Group Says

Civilians displaced by the conflict in North Darfur face unbearable conditions, Sudan Tribune photo.

August 22, 2025 (KAMPALA) – A regional women’s rights group said on Friday it has documented the abduction of infants as young as six months and the rape of victims ranging from toddlers to 80-year-olds during Sudan’s ongoing war.

The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA Network) said it had verified more than 400 cases of conflict-related sexual violence, including gang rape and sexual slavery, since the war began in April 2023.

“We have documented cases of violence against various age groups, from one year old to 80 years old,” Adila Abu Bakr, a SIHA coordinator, said during a regional online seminar on Thursday.

The group accused both the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of committing abuses. It also implicated allied militias fighting on both sides, including the joint force of armed movements and the Islamist Al-Baraa bin Malik militia.

Abu Bakr said the network had identified detention centres where women are held in Khartoum, Al Jazirah state, and El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. She added that the group continues to receive one to two new reports of sexual violence daily from the conflict zones of North Darfur and North Kordofan.

Activists face immense challenges, including a lack of funding for protection services, social stigma that prevents reporting, and the collapse of the country’s hospital infrastructure, Abu Bakr said.

The findings on Sudan were presented at a seminar that also highlighted persistent sexual violence in neighbouring countries.

In South Sudan, rape cases have risen slightly this year, and victims face a justice system where perpetrators often threaten lawyers and witnesses, said Jacqueline Nasiwa of the Centre for Governance, Peace, and Justice. In Uganda, feminist activist Grace Percy noted women in the north of the country were still grappling with the legacy of sexual violence from the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency.

War in Sudan erupted over a dispute between the army and the RSF, creating the world’s largest displacement crisis and pushing millions into extreme hunger. Both sides have been accused of widespread war crimes.