CIVICUS discusses Sudan’s civil war and its impact on women with Sulaima Elkhalifa, a Sudanese human rights defender and expert on gender-based violence.
In October, fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group fighting the Sudanese army, killed over 120 people in a brutal, multi-day attack on a town in Gezira State. The rampage, which involved arson, indiscriminate shooting, looting and sexual violence, forced thousands to flee their homes. The attacks took place in the context of a conflict that erupted in April 2023 and has now killed over 24,800 people and displaced more than 11 million. There have been recent reports of dozens of women committing mass suicide to avoid being raped by the approaching RSF.