The Sudanese Alliance for Rights (SAR) denounces the reported rape and assault of two girls from the same family, including a 14 year old child, in the Tarni forest south of Tawila in North Darfur on 26 October 2026.
According to Darfur24, the two girls, aged 14 and 20 and from the Malli displacement camp, had left the camp to collect firewood when they were intercepted by three masked men. The attackers reportedly beat the girls before sexually assaulting and raping them. The survivors were later taken to Tawila Hospital with the assistance of a local protection volunteer, where medical examinations reportedly confirmed two cases of rape.
SAR is deeply alarmed by the attack, particularly the reported rape of a 14 year old child. The incident underscores the severe protection risks faced by displaced women and girls who are forced to leave displacement sites in search of firewood and other basic necessities. A Gender Based Violence Safety Audit for Tawila locality published by UNFPA and protection partners on 23 October identified firewood collection and other activities outside displacement sites as significant protection risks, while also highlighting gaps in 24 hour healthcare, clinical management of rape and confidential referral services.
The fact that the survivors were attacked while carrying out an essential activity highlights a broader protection failure. Women and girls should not have to choose between accessing basic necessities and exposing themselves to sexual violence. Authorities and humanitarian actors must take urgent measures to make access to firewood, water, food and other essential resources safer and to reduce the need for women and girls to travel through high risk areas.
The reported attack must also be understood within the broader pattern of conflict related sexual violence affecting women and girls throughout Sudan. Sexual violence has been repeatedly documented in the context of the war, including against displaced women and girls and while civilians undertake essential activities necessary for their survival. Its use in situations of conflict can serve to terrorise, punish, humiliate and forcibly displace civilian populations, while creating fear that extends beyond individual survivors to families and entire communities.
The widespread use of sexual violence has made displacement and everyday survival increasingly dangerous for women and girls. Those who leave displacement sites to collect firewood, access water, obtain food, cultivate land or seek other necessities can face the threat of rape and other forms of violence. This means that women and girls are being exposed to violence not because they have entered a conflict zone voluntarily, but because they are attempting to meet basic needs in circumstances where safe alternatives are often unavailable.
The incident also comes amid a wider pattern of sexual violence affecting women and girls in Darfur. Médecins Sans Frontières reported that more than 3,396 survivors of sexual violence sought care at its supported facilities across North and South Darfur between January 2024 and November 2025. In North Darfur, more than 95 percent of survivors reportedly identified an armed person as the perpetrator, while a significant number of attacks occurred while women and girls were travelling or carrying out essential activities.
SAR stresses that sexual violence must not be treated as an inevitable consequence of Sudan’s war. Where sexual violence is used in connection with the conflict to terrorise, punish, humiliate or forcibly displace civilian populations, it may constitute a war crime and, where the legal elements are established, other serious international crimes. The persistence of such crimes, alongside limited accountability, risks further entrenching a climate of fear and impunity.
The involvement of a 14 year old child in this latest incident is particularly alarming. Sexual violence against children constitutes a grave violation of their rights and can cause lasting physical, psychological and social harm. The protection of children and women must therefore be central to efforts to address the conflict and its consequences.
SAR calls for a prompt, independent and impartial investigation into the attack and urges the relevant authorities to identify and prosecute those responsible in accordance with applicable national and international law. The investigation must be conducted in a manner that protects the dignity, privacy and safety of the survivors, particularly the child, and must not expose them to further trauma, stigma, retaliation or discrimination.
SAR further calls on authorities and humanitarian actors in Tawila to urgently strengthen protection measures around displacement sites and along routes used by women and girls to collect firewood, access water, cultivate land and obtain essential supplies. This should include safer access to basic necessities, improved lighting and security around displacement sites, functioning referral mechanisms, and confidential medical, psychosocial and protection services for survivors.
The immediate medical care received by the two survivors is an important first step, but access to support must not end with emergency treatment. Survivors of sexual violence require sustained access to confidential healthcare, psychosocial support, protection services and safe pathways to justice. These services must be accessible without discrimination and without placing survivors at further risk.
SAR stresses that the identity and affiliation of the perpetrators have not been independently established and calls for evidence based investigation rather than premature attribution. What is clear is that two displaced girls were subjected to grave sexual violence while carrying out an essential activity, underscoring the urgent need to strengthen civilian protection in Tawila and across North Darfur.
The Sudanese Alliance for Rights calls on the international community and all actors with influence over the conflict to prioritise the protection of women and children, support survivor centred services and press for accountability for perpetrators of sexual violence. Sexual violence must not be allowed to become a normalised feature of Sudan’s war or a tool through which civilians are terrorised, displaced or deprived of their dignity.
The protection of women and girls must be central to all efforts to address the conflict, including humanitarian response, accountability initiatives, ceasefire efforts and peace processes. Survivors must be supported not only to access immediate care, but also to obtain justice, protection and meaningful remedies.
The Sudanese Alliance for Rights stands with the survivors and their family and calls for their protection, dignity, continued access to care and justice.
Sudanese Alliance for Rights (SAR,
28 October 2026