By Olivia Le Poidevin
GENEVA (Reuters) -Rape is being used systematically as a weapon of war in Sudan, a UN agency warned on Tuesday, as the conflict marks its second year.
“We have seen a 288% increase in demand for life saving support for rape and sexual violence survivors. We are beginning to see the systematic use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war,” Anna Mutavati, the regional director of UN Women, told reporters in Geneva via video link from Port Sudan.
“Women’s bodies have turned into a battleground,” she said, without saying which side in Sudan’s war was responsible.
The war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces erupted in April 2023, shattering hopes for a transition to civilian rule.
The conflict has since displaced millions and devastated regions like Darfur, where the RSF is fighting to maintain its stronghold amid army advances in Khartoum.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg, not everyone is coming forward because there is shame and victim blaming that is attached to every woman that has been raped and gang raped,” she said.
A U.N. fact-finding mission last year described levels of sexual abuse, including child rape, as “staggering”. The majority of known cases were perpetrated by the RSF and its allies, the mission said, noting it was more difficult to report in army-controlled territories.
A representative of another U.N. agency said on Tuesday he had met women in Khartoum who told him they had been sexually assaulted in front of their injured husbands and screaming children.
“It is the first time in my life I have seen women who have been abused to that extent,” said Mohamed Refaat, head of the International Organization for Migration’s mission in Sudan.
Britain is co-hosting a London conference on Tuesday, aiming to improve coordination of the international response to the crisis. Sudan’s foreign minister has criticised the presence of the UAE and Kenya at the talks and said Sudan should have been invited.
(Reporting by Olivia Le PoidevinEditing by Madeline Chambers and Ros Russell)
