South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Awan Achiek
Dozens of women and girls have been raped and sexually assaulted by fighters in Sudan, according to to the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The U.S top foreign envoy said in a statement issued by the embassy in Khartoum that woman and girls have been sexually abused amid lawlessness and impunity.
“Many women and girls have been raped or live in terror of sexual violence amid lawlessness and impunity. The Rapid Support Forces and Sudan Armed Forces must end this brutal war and return governance to civilians, as the Sudanese people have long demanded,” said Blinken.
Sudan has been mired in violence amid clashes between the Sudan Armed Forces led by Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and the paramilitary RSF led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo since April 2023.
“We reflect on the continued suffering of the Sudanese people due to the needless conflict between the Rapid Support Force (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF),” said Blinken.
He said that the conflict has resulted in war crimes, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, grave food insecurity, widespread displacement, and a collapsing healthcare system.
Blinken added that the brutal war has also dangerously deepened divisions in Sudan along ethnic, tribal, and regional lines.
He said that Sudan suffers from one of the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crises because of the warring parties’ decisions, adding that the country’s economy and infrastructure are in ruins.
“The United States continues to stand with the people of Sudan and will work to end the conflict so that in the coming year, the Sudanese people can begin to realize the peace, security, and prosperity they deserve,” said Blinken.
Sudan’s Gender-Based Violence Unit has documented nearly 90 cases of sexual assault and rape of women and girls since fighting erupted in April 2023 between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces.
Sudan’s prominent human rights defenders said there are a much larger number of cases going unreported.
