Mirvat Abdelqader

Sudan — About 50 kilometers from the devastated city of El-Fasher, specifically in the Tawila area that shelters thousands of displaced people fleeing from western El-Fasher in Sudan, our agency was present on the ground to portray an extremely complex humanitarian reality. A reality lived by civilians escaping mass extermination campaigns and systematic killings taking place in El-Fasher, North Darfur.

Inside old tents empty of everything except the cries of hungry children, our agency met with Ruqayya Adam, who fled the Abu Shouk camp in El-Fasher after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took control of the city. She described horrors beyond imagination. She said she left El-Fasher with a number of girls heading toward Tawila, but the RSF prevented them from escaping and raped the girls who were with her, taking them to an unknown location — among them two young girls who died instantly from the shock of what happened to them.

Ruqayya Adam was eight months pregnant and gave birth on the road before her due date without a doctor or midwife present, exposing her to numerous health complications. She carried her newborn in her arms, exhausted from beatings and torture, and walked long distances until she reached Tawila, where she now lives in a tent with no food or water. Her seven-year-old daughter works gathering grass from the roadside to sell for firewood, collecting small amounts of money in hopes of barely sustaining the family. Ruqayya says that families are still searching for their missing daughters with no success.

Women in Tawila are not safe

Tawila has been one of the targeted areas since the beginning of the conflict. It has received thousands of displaced people in recent months seeking safety, despite limited resources, its distance from main relief centers, and its proximity to El-Fasher — the epicenter of the escalating conflict.

Activists and humanitarian workers warn that continuing displacement without sufficient support may lead to a wider humanitarian crisis in North Darfur, especially with the approaching rainy season and the lack of the necessary infrastructure for providing services.

They confirmed that the situation in Tawila reflects a miniature image of the tragedy of Darfur, where hundreds of thousands of civilians live without shelter, healthcare, or adequate food, while relief organizations’ access continues to shrink due to deteriorating security conditions.

 

Dire physical and psychological conditions

The Displaced Persons Coordination in North Darfur explained that RSF forces pursued those fleeing El-Fasher along the roads leading to Tawila, gathering some of them in the Garni area, where thousands remain stranded, including children who were separated from their families amid chaos and fear during flight.

It noted that the humanitarian conditions in Tawila are extremely harsh and dangerous. Gunshot injuries exceeded 1,300 people, while 1,210 children suffer from acute malnutrition, and 700 elderly people are in critical health condition due to the lack of medicine, water, and food.

It added that the number of survivors from El-Fasher who managed to reach Tawila surpassed 15,000 people, most of whom suffer from severe physical and psychological conditions as a result of injuries, violence, and rape experienced along the way.

 

Harassment and degrading searches against women

Women fleeing the horrors of war in El-Fasher were subjected to numerous violations no less severe than those occurring inside the city. They were beaten and tortured, in addition to repeated harassment, degrading searches, and rape — including gang rape.

 

Minister of Social Welfare Salima Ishaq expressed fears regarding what might happen to women in Tawila, especially those who appeared in media reports and shared their stories. She added that she is “concerned about international and service organizations, as the RSF cannot be trusted.”

She said, “On the first day of RSF control over El-Fasher, 25 girls were documented being raped inside El-Fasher University — similar to what happened during the fall of Geneina. The first thing that happened was the rape of female students at Geneina University. The crime was documented because the area still had internet services at the time, and through surveillance cameras around the university buildings. There were also numerous violations against women outside the universities that were not documented due to a lack of internet services and surveillance cameras.”

She added, “The RSF has become accustomed to using sexual violence as a weapon, just like starvation, killing, and humiliating others — a systematic behavior used against civilians. Women along the death road from El-Fasher to Tawila were subjected to degrading searches and sexual harassment. Women were fully stripped of their clothes and searched; the purpose was humiliation, degradation, and harassment.”

According to the United Nations, rape and sexual violence occur everywhere in El-Fasher. It confirmed that since the RSF entered the city, all UN reports have indicated unprecedented levels of sexual violence.

Regarding what women need, Salima Ishaq stated that displaced women in camps require above all safety, psychological support, and access to humanitarian services.

A disastrous scale of violations

The General Coordination for Refugee and Displaced Camps in Darfur spoke of a massive and tragic scale of violations that women faced while fleeing from El-Fasher to Tawila. It confirmed that 150 women were subjected to rape and sexual harassment during their attempt to escape the conflict.

Humanitarian reports warned that these grave violations against women and children during displacement constitute war crimes requiring international accountability, urging urgent intervention from the United Nations and human rights organizations to rescue thousands of civilians trapped in areas across Darfur.

Meanwhile, the Sudanese Doctors’ Network announced the documentation of 32 rape cases involving girls from El-Fasher within a single week, based on medical and field sources, following the RSF takeover of the city in October. The victims arrived in Tawila locality, while others were assaulted during their escape.

The network condemned these violations, describing them as war crimes and crimes against humanity, holding the RSF responsible, and calling for an urgent international investigation, protection for survivors, and unrestricted access for medical and humanitarian organizations.