MSF Reports 3,300 Sexual Violence Victims in North and South Darfur

31 March 2026

MSF reports 3,300 sexual violence victims in North and South Darfur

​March 31, 2026 (NYALA) – Medical charity MSF said on Tuesday it had treated 3,300 victims of sexual violence in Sudan’s North and South Darfur states over a period of less than two years.

​Data and survivor testimony released by MSF indicated that Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters and allied militias are responsible for widespread and systemic sexual violence against women.

​In a report titled “I have something to tell you: Surviving the sexual violence crisis in Darfur,” the group said 3,396 survivors sought treatment at MSF-supported facilities between January 2024 and November 2025.

​Women and girls accounted for 97% of the victims treated. MSF emphasized that these figures represent only a small fraction of the true scale of the crisis, as many survivors cannot safely access care.

​The report noted patterns of systematic abuse. In North Darfur, armed men were responsible for over 95% of cases, while in South Darfur, approximately 60% of assaults involved multiple perpetrators.

​MSF based its findings on medical data, informed survivor testimonies, and interviews with 56 women leaders, midwives, researchers, and activists working in the region.

​The report stated that MSF treated over 140 victims who fled to Tawila after the RSF seized El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, on Oct. 26, 2025.

​About 94% of these victims were attacked by armed men. Many reported being assaulted on displacement routes, often by multiple perpetrators in front of their families. Non-Arab communities were deliberately targeted as a means of humiliation.

​Between December 2025 and January 2026, the organization identified 732 victims in displacement camps around Tawila. Women reported attacks both during their journey and within the camps.

​Survivors received psychological first aid and clinical referrals. At the Daba Naira camp in Tawila, 206 victims received consultations specifically related to rape.

​Most victims reached care approximately three months after the assault. This timeline correlates with the period following the fall of El Fasher and the surge in violence during displacement.

​The report highlighted that overcrowding, lack of basic security, and unsafe conditions—including distant water points and insecure latrines—have increased the vulnerability of women.

​Tawila, controlled by the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdul Wahid el-Nur, has transformed from a remote area into a shelter for over 715,000 displaced people living in critical conditions.

​MSF also collected testimonies from 150 victims in the weeks following the RSF takeover of Zamzam camp, located 12 kilometres southwest of El Fasher.

​Women and girls reported being beaten and threatened with knives and guns. In some cases, victims suffered gunshot wounds or had their hair shaved with razors after being raped.

​Survivors reported explicit threats from RSF fighters who told them they would never be safe and warned they would be harmed again if they fled to Tawila or elsewhere.

​The RSF took control of Zamzam camp, which housed half a million people, on April 15, 2025, following a three-day ground assault and months of shelling and drone strikes.

​The report noted that sexual violence is not limited to active combat zones. It extends to flight routes, agricultural fields, markets, and displacement camps.

​In South Darfur, which has been away from the main front lines since late 2023, MSF said sexual violence remains a “malignant part of daily life.”

​Between January 2024 and November 2025, MSF treated 2,334 victims in South Darfur, with numbers increasing steadily each month throughout the previous year.

​The data showed 34% of victims were attacked while farming or on their way to fields, while 22% were assaulted while collecting firewood, water, or food.

​Children are also among the survivors. In South Darfur, one in five survivors was under the age of 18, including 41 children under the age of five.

​Women in South Darfur described feeling effectively imprisoned in their homes. Rape has become an unavoidable risk on roads and in markets surrounding displacement camps on the outskirts of Nyala.

​Life in South Darfur, which has been under RSF control since October 2023, is defined by insecurity, impunity, and rising rates of killing, looting, and sexual violence.