Tawila, February 23 (Darfur24) — Medical sources reported Sunday that more than 400 women and girls, including minors, were subjected to sexual violence while fleeing from El Fasher to Tawila in North Darfur.
Hundreds of thousands of residents fled El Fasher after the Rapid Support Forces seized control of the city in late October, an offensive accompanied by widespread violations that a United Nations report said bore hallmarks of genocide.
Doctors told Darfur24 that health facilities in Tawila documented at least 488 cases of sexual violence against women and girls during displacement from El Fasher amid the RSF incursion.
A medical source at Tawila Hospital confirmed that documented cases exceeded 400, including incidents of rape, gang rape, and torture, affecting females of different ages, among them minors.
A counselor working with a psychological support team at a human rights organization said Tawila is currently hosting hundreds of survivors of sexual violence who fled El Fasher.
The counselor noted that medical assessments and survivor testimonies indicate widespread and serious violations against women and girls, adding that dozens of pregnancies among minors have been recorded, increasing the demand for specialized medical and psychosocial care.
She added that assistance is being delivered to some survivors through UNICEF’s partners, but described the response as insufficient given the scale of the needs.
The counselor further reported that some families experienced multiple violations during displacement, compounding trauma and complicating recovery.
Tawila, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Sudan Liberation Movement, is among the areas receiving the largest influx of internally displaced persons in Sudan, with an estimated 665,000 arrivals, most from El Fasher.
In a report issued on February 19, the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission said RSF forces carried out a coordinated campaign of destruction against civilian communities, noting that developments in El Fasher and surrounding areas show indicators consistent with genocide.
Earlier, on February 13, the UN Human Rights Office reported documenting more than 6,000 killings during the first three days of the RSF attack on El Fasher, alongside 4,400 additional deaths during the same period, and more than 1,600 people killed while attempting to flee the city.