Murders, rapes, hangings rampant in war-torn Sudan

The Sudanese people began 2024 to the sounds of bullets, aerial bombardments, and individual crimes of violence, including hundreds of rapes. The civil war that began in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by General Mohamed Hamdan "Hemedti" Dagalo, has raged across 60% of the country, with over 10,000 deaths and the displacement of more than 7 million people.

The Media Line was able to contact several displaced citizens and Sudanese relief organizations and activists, who all spoke of terrible atrocities taking place on the ground. Such eyewitness accounts have not been documented until now because of the risks to media and human rights representatives, as well as frequent interruptions to communication and internet services.

Yara Hussein was able to escape to the Egyptian-Sudanese border and created a TikTok account to which she posts videos captured on her phone. 

“I am a mother of four children," she told The Media Line. "I was able to escape with my husband and my children to the border with Egypt through the Argin crossing [in the center of the Egypt-Sudan border], and now we have been there for a week and have not been allowed to enter, but at least we are in a safe area. The escape trip cost me more than $1,000, which is almost all the cash I have, and now I only have gold that I want to sell to save my husband and children.”

Hussein said the Egyptian Red Crescent and several relief associations were distributing water, biscuits, and sometimes snacks, “which are not enough to satisfy hunger, but we are safe.”

Speaking of her escape, she said, “The Rapid Support Forces stormed our area and killed a number of young men inside their homes and in front of their families. Members of these militias also stormed some homes, settled in them, and began eating whatever food was available, even though the people of the house were present.

“A 16-year-old girl was also raped in our area. After they raped her, they killed her because she had beaten someone in retaliation for the rape. They hung her body over her house and wrote that this was the fate of those who faced them.”

Al-Tahir Abdullah, an expatriate Sudanese journalist and activist, launched a Facebook page to raise funds to finance the purchase of abortion and contraceptive pills in Sudan. 

“There are many cases of rape being carried out by RSF soldiers,” he told The Media Line. “Our people in the areas of Madani, Wad City, and others, during the few times they have access to the internet, talk about major crimes and rapes taking place on a number of girls there, in addition to the killings that take place randomly.”

Abdullah told of his neighbor’s experiences

“One of our neighbors in the Al-Andalus neighborhood in the city of Wad had two of her daughters raped in front of her. Her husband was killed several months ago in the ongoing war in Sudan, and she was forced to use traditional methods to ensure that her two daughters would not become pregnant as a result of the rape,” he said.

“Now, many Sudanese women in conflict areas are taking birth control pills, the price of which has increased more than 1,000 times, and they are not available. Therefore, we are working to provide them by purchasing them from neighboring countries and smuggling them into Sudan using volunteers. So far, we have been able to collect more than $10,000, which is certainly not enough, but it may solve the crises of some women inside Sudan.”

Bilal Jaber, a volunteer in the Sudanese Red Crescent, told The Media Line about relief operations in Sudan.

“We are carrying out major relief operations for the displaced from the areas of the Sudanese state of Al-Jazira. What is happening in Sudan now is that the Rapid Support Forces enter a city, and its people flee to other cities,” he said.

Jaber said that while his organization is receiving support from international relief organizations, it is not sufficient. 

“Now, we are faced with millions of displaced people, who are without food or shelter,” he said.

About the rapes, Jaber said, “Indeed, there are cases of rape. We have received some cases of girls aged 14 to 18 who were raped and lost their virginity, or who became pregnant as a result of the rape. I personally documented more than seven cases of rape, and my colleagues also documented other cases, but these cases were able to reach us.” 

Jaber added that there were many rape victims who had not reached them, not to mention victims who were killed. 

“We have heard horrific testimonies from the displaced,” he said. “Either the militias killed some of their members, or they were unable to survive.” 

Omar Hussein, 57, managed to escape to Egypt several weeks ago and told The Media Line: “The Rapid Support [Forces] militia killed my son Ahmed in front of our house. He was 25 years old. He heard the sound of gunfire outside. He stood at the door to watch what was happening and held his smartphone to film, but they killed him directly, took his phone, and entered our house to threaten us.”

Hussein continued, “They repeatedly entered our house, used our belongings, and even left us all in one room. They used the rest of the house for sleeping and resting, and as a weapons store, but they went out to fight, and I escaped with my family with only some light items. When I arrived at the [Argin] crossing, they did not allow us to enter [Egypt] at first, but I hold a residence visa in a Gulf country, and I told them that I intend to travel there with my family, so they let us enter Egypt.”

Zulkifli, a Sudanese activist who runs an account on X called “Sudan War Update,” told The Media Line: “I and others manage a group of activists, documenting the crimes of the Rapid Support [Forces] militia in the areas they raid. Now our account has become a source of reliable videos. We used to publish only what we film, but now we receive hundreds of videos daily about the crimes of the Rapid Support [Forces] militia, and we publish them after we verify them.”

Zulkifli said that he receives daily videos “about the killing of citizens, rape, and destruction. Unfortunately, we have a large archive of crimes documented on video.”

He and his team ask followers who send videos to state the region and the date at the beginning of each video, “so that we can verify the video and documentation.”

“The strange thing is that we received videos from some members of the Rapid Support [Forces] militia that they filmed themselves, laughing or threatening while they were killing citizens, and they appear in the video with their faces, and they also talk about the name of the area they stormed and the date, and they brag about their crimes,” he said.

Zulkifli said that in one such video, an RSF member "talked about those who have the right to rape girls because they have become 'slaves,' and that murder is the fate of everyone who stands before them.”

Explaining why he and his team post videos on X, Zulkifli said, “We publish on the X platform only, as it is the only one that allows publishing videos of murder or videos containing violence. We had accounts on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook to reach the largest audience, but all of them received warnings and closures due to scenes of violence that these platforms prevent from publishing.”

Zulkifli said that despite everything he and his team publish, “we do not get good interaction. Everyone is preoccupied with the war in Gaza. It is true that what is happening in Gaza is a crime, but in Sudan there are also crimes that must be covered and paid attention to.”

Al-Hadi Abdullah, a Sudanese political analyst, told The Media Line, “The problem did not start in April 2023, but rather it began earlier when the Bashir regime transformed the Janjaweed militias into armed forces called the RSF. The Janjaweed militias are a group of savages who committed very horrific crimes in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan.”

According to Abdullah, “After the overthrow of the Bashir regime, there was no agreement between it and the Sudanese army, and each party received support from countries abroad, whether African countries or others. Therefore, the killing machine will continue as long as the support is present.”

Abdullah said that no one is talking about the crimes currently taking place.

“External support for the Rapid Support [Forces] militia must be stopped. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo must be held accountable at the International Criminal Court, and this militia must be dismantled. Otherwise, any attempt to reach a political agreement will not succeed,” he said.

“The Sudanese army is now in battles with this militia, but the conflict is extending, and it will not stop before the RSF is eliminated, and all those who benefit from them. They are criminals. We know very well about cases of rape, murder, looting and theft. It is exactly what happened in Darfur previously from these militias. The same thing is repeated in the same scenario."

Mohammed al-Fateh, an activist loyal to the RSF, told The Media Line, “The fighting will not stop until Sudan is liberated and a democratic state is established. We must liberate Sudan from the corrupt army, and Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, must fall.”

According to al-Fateh, “There will be no agreement. They [the Sudanese Sovereignty Council] want the return of the military regime, and we want to liberate Sudan and establish a civil state. What they are talking about in terms of rape and other crimes is not real. As for murder, everyone who supports this corrupt government must be killed. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo must lead the political process in Sudan.” 

Al-Moataz, a member of the Dar Hamid tribe, who announced the formation of armed teams to support the Sudanese army in its war against the RSF, told The Media Line, “We are now on the side of the army. We must stand to stop the bloodshed and eliminate the Janjaweed militia. The Janjaweed attacked our villages and homes, and committed very horrific crimes. They do not have any religion or morals, and only understand force. They must all be killed. Many tribes have formed armed military teams and elements to support the Sudanese army, and we will all stand strong until Sudan reaches stability.”