Head of UN-backed team of experts cites paramilitary force in Sudan for sexual violence as war rages
The head of a U.N.-backed fact-finding team looking into human rights violations and abuses in Sudan says the team found the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces responsible for large-scale sexual violence in areas that it controls
GENEVA (AP) — The head of a U.N.-backed fact-finding team looking into human rights violations and abuses in Sudan said Friday it found the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces responsible for large-scale sexual violence in areas that it controls.
Mohamed Chande Othman has denounced “staggering violence” in Sudan since war broke out more than 18 months ago between the Sudanese military and the RSF, starting with open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, that later spread across the country.
“We said in our report that we attribute sexual gender-based violence to RSF in West Darfur, in Darfur, in greater Khartoum, and in al-Gezira (state)," the Tanzanian lawyer said Friday by phone from Zimbabwe, where he was attending a conference.
However, Othman said a renewed mandate from the U.N. Human Rights Council would allow his team of independent experts to investigate “credible” allegations of sexual exploitation by the Sudanese armed forces as well.
