Note: The following contains descriptions of sexual violence, which may be upsetting for some readers
It’s been more than a year since civil war broke out in Sudan.
And the headlines keep getting worse.
But for Sudanese Christians, the headlines are only the beginning of the danger.
The conflict began when two rival factions of the military government began to fight. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by a man known as Hemedti—who led the infamous Janjaweed militia group (which is widely believed to be responsible for genocide in the Darfur region)—began to attack government targets. On the other side, the Sudanese Armed Forces—the “official” military of the country—fought back against the RSF. Thousands of people have been killed or injured, and the conflict has triggered a huge displacement crisis. Most of the fighting has centered around the capital city of Khartoum, but the conflict has stretched across the nation..
A new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) released in late July shows how brutal the conflict has become. The report notes: “Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan have committed widespread acts of sexual violence in areas of Khartoum over which they exercise control, acts that constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity. Both the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have attacked healthcare workers, local responders and healthcare facilities, which are war crimes.”
The following contains descriptions of sexual violence, which may be upsetting for some readers.
The report makes it clear what kind of atrocities are taking place: “The Rapid Support Forces have raped, gang raped, and forced into marriage countless women and girls in residential areas in Sudan’s capital,” said Laetitia Bader, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The armed group has terrorized women and girls, and both warring parties have blocked them from getting aid and support services, compounding the harm they face and leaving them to feel that nowhere is safe.”
Survivors told the medical providers that they were raped by as many as five RSF fighters. The RSF have also abducted women and girls and confined them in homes and other facilities they occupied, subjecting them to sexual violence and other abuse. RSF members have
sometimes sexually assaulted women and girls in front of their family members.
Fewer cases were attributed to the Sudanese Armed Forces members, but an uptick in cases were reported after the SAF took control of the city of Omdurman in early 2024. Men and boys have also been raped, the report states.
Shortly before the release of the HRW report, Médicins Sans Frontiers (MSF)—called Doctors Without Borders in English—also released a report stating that the war in Sudan has led to a collapse in the protection of civilians, with communities facing indiscriminate violence, killings, torture and sexual violence amid persistent attacks on health workers and medical facilities.
“Estimates for the total number of people injured or killed during the war vary but MSF, which works in eight states across Sudan, revealed that in just one of the hospitals it supports, Al Nao hospital in Omdurman, Khartoum State, 6,776 patients were treated for injuries caused by violence between 15 August 2023 and 30 April 2024, an average of 26 people per day,” the report said. “MSF has treated thousands of patients for conflict-related injuries across the country, most for injuries caused by explosions, gunshots and stabbings.”
The report contains shocking reports of sexual and gender-based violence, especially in Darfur. An MSF survey of 135 survivors of sexual violence treated by MSF teams between July and December 2023 in refugee camps in Chad close to the Sudanese border found 90% were abused by an armed perpetrator, 50% were abused in their own homes and 40% were raped by multiple attackers, wrote Radio Tamajuz earlier in July.
Meanwhile the Sudan Tribune reported that Sudan’s army will inform the United States Envoy Tom Perriello whether it would participate in proposed talks with the RSF in Switzerland in August.
All Sudanese citizens are caught in the violence—but Open Doors teams involved with the work in the country have said Christians are facing an additional layer of suffering.
“The hostility facing Christians is particularly acute outside Sudan’s capital city of Khartoum,” says Fikiru*, an Open Doors research expert on East Africa. “But the epicenter of the conflict is the capital, where most Christians live. Many have been forced to flee, while those who remain, may be forced to take sides in the conflict, putting them at further risk.”
He added that much of the church in Sudan–people who would normally be able to help with distribution and taking care of vulnerable believers—are now on the run.
For now, the best thing we can do is pray and encourage the international community to work to bring an end to the violence.
“Open Doors welcomes the continued efforts of the US and others to bring together the warring factions and urge Sudan’s partners to continue to do all in its power to convince them to find negotiated solutions to the conflict,” says Jo Newhouse, Open Doors’ spokesperson for our work in sub-Saharan Africa. “Fighting over the past year has not resolved any dispute but has only exacerbated the suffering of the most vulnerable. Sudan’s partners and the international community at large cannot stand idle while civilians have nowhere to run.”
