Sudan_ Sexual violence constitutes one of the most serious patterns of violations in Sudan, as conflict parties use it as a weapon to terrorise civilians and undermine the social fabric, amid warnings of escalating attacks targeting women and girls in combat zones and the absence of effective protection.

The Al‑Jazeera Human Rights Monitor documented on Friday, August 28, a rape incident against an 18‑year‑old girl in the Umbada area of Omdurman, one of the largest cities in the capital Khartoum. Based on the victim's family's testimony, four armed men intercepted the girl and her mother as they were returning from their workplace at a restaurant, and assaulted her at gunpoint.

The monitor stated that the mother reported the perpetrators were on motorcycles and intercepted them on a dark street, then raped her daughter in turns while the mother witnessed the crime.

The survivor was taken after the incident to the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department at Umbada Hospital, where she received medical care and underwent examination. A Form 8 (official medical form) was also obtained for legal procedures, according to the Al‑Jazeera Human Rights Monitor.

The monitor noted that the medical examination confirmed sexual assault, pointing to the use of weapons and threats, along with multiple perpetrators, representing a serious form of coercion and sexual violence. It added that conflict‑related rape may amount to a war crime or crime against humanity, depending on the circumstances and context of the incident.

The monitor stressed the need to protect the survivor and witnesses from retaliation and stigma, preserve medical and legal evidence, and ensure the survivor receives medical, psychological, and legal care in a safe and confidential manner, while respecting her privacy and not publishing any information that could reveal her identity.

It called on the competent authorities to open an urgent, independent, and impartial investigation to identify the suspects and verify any connection to joint forces, and to hold accountable all those proven responsible under the law, including command responsibility where its legal conditions are met.