MSF Reports Over 600 Sexual Violence Survivors Treated

Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières – MSF) has revealed that it treated more than 600 survivors of sexual violence in North Darfur, western Sudan, between April and August 2025. The humanitarian organisation reported that the majority of attacks were allegedly carried out by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

In updates shared on X, MSF said 302 cases were recorded in May and June alone, a surge it linked to assaults on the Zamzam and Abu Shouk displacement camps near the city of El Fasher. Most victims were women and girls, including children.

August saw 112 survivors receive care, with 85 per cent coming from El Fasher or Zamzam. Alarmingly, 30 per cent of the patients were under 18. MSF noted that 97 per cent of the perpetrators were believed to be members of armed groups rather than civilians.

MSF Reports Over 600 Sexual Violence Survivors Treated — MSF Staff talking to one of the mothers admitted to MSF’s program to care for lactating and pregnant women suffering from severe malnutrition, while waiting to receive the food baskets.

The UN Human Rights Office stated on September 20 that RSF fighters had committed systematic sexual assaults during their assault on Zamzam camp. In one documented incident, 12 fighters raped five women in front of their children.

According to the Sudan Tribune, RSF forces seized control of the Zamzam camp—located about 12 kilometres southwest of El Fasher—in April during a major offensive that followed intense shelling and drone strikes.

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Abdullahi Jimoh

Abdullahi Jimoh is a multimedia journalist and digital content creator with over a decade's experience in writing, communications, and marketing across Africa and the UK.