Sudanese girls and youth, victims of sexual violence by armed fighters

The organization Save the Children warned this Friday about the rapes and assaults of children and adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 by armed fighters in Sudan, without specifying whether they belong to the regular army or the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces.

“Although sexual violence is widespread, only 88 cases of rape have been verified as a result of the conflict, with at least 42 suspected cases in the capital, Khartoum, and 46 in the Darfur region,” the NGO said. a note.

According to the Sudan Unit for Combating Violence against Women, a government agency, “this figure probably represents 2% of all cases, meaning there are 4,400 possible cases of sexual assault in just eleven weeks.

“Some survivors arrive pregnant in neighboring countries as a result of rape,” said UNHCR, which warns girls kidnapped and held for days while being sexually assaultedand gang rapes of girls and women.

Save the Children in Sudan director Arif Noor has said that “sexual violence continues to be used as a means to terrorize women and children in Sudan” and stressed that “the official figures are just the tip of the iceberg. as young as 12 years old are being attacked because of their gender, because of their ethnicity, because of their vulnerability.”

Faced with this situation, Save the Children calls on the parties to the conflict to agree on a immediate cessation of hostilities in Sudan and find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

The exact number of casualties from the fighting is not known, estimated at some 1,173 civilian deaths and 11,704 wounded, according to the latest update of World Health Organization (WHO) data, citing the Sudanese Ministry of Health, in mid-last year. June.

So far, both sides of the conflict have not indicated their intention to agree to a new ceasefire.