"Tip of the Iceberg": MSF Condemns Systemic Sexual Violence in Sudan Conflict

In a harrowing condemnation of the ongoing conflict in Sudan, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has urged warring factions to cease using sexual violence as a weapon of war. Speaking to journalists in Nairobi, MSF Crisis Coordinator Myriam Laaroussi emphasized that the documented atrocities represent merely "the tip of the iceberg," demanding an end to "fighting the war on women's bodies."

Staggering Scale of Abuse

Between January 2024 and November 2025, MSF medical facilities in North and South Darfur treated nearly 3,400 survivors of sexual violence. According to the humanitarian organization's latest report, the primary perpetrators are members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias. The violence disproportionately targets women from non-Arab ethnic groups, including the Massalit, Zaghawa, and Fur communities, in a calculated campaign of humiliation and intimidation.

The brutality extends far beyond active combat zones. MSF Emergency Coordinator Ruth Kauffmann noted that in South Darfur alone, one-third of the victims were assaulted while working in agricultural fields, and another 20 percent were attacked while fetching water or firewood. Alarmingly, one-fifth of the survivors are minors, including girls under the age of five. "Children are also at the center of this crisis," Laaroussi warned.

A Hidden Crisis for Men and Boys

The report highlights that over 90 percent of survivors were attacked by armed men, with many enduring gang rapes. While women and girls are the primary targets, men and boys account for three percent of the victims. Gloria Endres, an MSF representative deployed in North Darfur, pointed out that the profound stigma surrounding these assaults makes it even more difficult for male victims to come forward and speak about the violence they endured.

Lack of Medical Infrastructure and Shifting Frontlines

Access to medical care remains critically scarce. Midwife Andêza Trajano reported that MSF is one of the few organizations providing specialized support for civilian survivors, with many victims forced to walk for hours to reach a clinic. The humanitarian crisis was further exacerbated by the capture of Al-Fashir, the capital of North Darfur, last October. After a grueling 18-month siege, the city's fall was marked by "unimaginable brutality," with fleeing civilians subjected to horrific abuses, often in plain sight of their families.

Sudan, a nation of approximately 48 million people, has been ravaged by civil war for nearly three years as the regular army, led by de facto ruler Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan, battles the RSF commanded by his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. As frontlines now shift from Darfur toward the central and southern Kordofan regions—home to other non-Arab populations—MSF warns of impending atrocities. With all efforts to secure a lasting ceasefire having failed, millions remain displaced in what has become one of the most severe humanitarian emergencies of recent times.