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Conflict related violations against children has been happening in Sudan for decades. However, the situation took a turn for the worst when an armed conflict broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on 15 April 2023. The warring parties have been involved in the commission of grave violations against children including the recruitment of child soldiers. Regardless of how children are recruited and their roles, child soldiers are victims, whose participation in conflict bears serious implications for their physical and emotional well-being. The children are commonly subjected to abuse and most of them witness death, killing, and sexual violence. Many are forced to commit violent acts against other children and civilians and and resultantly suffer serious long-term psychological consequences from such violations.

There are significant developments on both the political and the human rights levels in Sudan during the past couple of months. In particular, the past few weeks have witnessed movements by the Rapid Support Forces to focus on the Darfur region, with the aim of using this region as a strategic military base from which it can bring about a change in the balance of military and political power.

The African Center for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) expresses deep concern about the rising levels of ethnic violence and the perpetuation of the trend by the warring parties in Sudan. In this release, ACJPS has documented incidents where Pro-National Congress Party (NCP) Military Intelligence personnel arrested and allegedly killed 26 male Sudanese citizens in Wad Madani, Al-jazeera state.

Tragedy continues to unfold in Nyala, South Darfur as conflict escalates. Recent attacks by the Sudanese Army have resulted in the death of approximately 30 civilians including children and 22 others have sustained injuries and massive destruction of property.

Looting has carried on for months and continues as law and order has broken down in Sudan, with none of the police stations operating across the country making it impossible for victims to report cases of stolen property. The warring parties are accused of perpetuating the violation of the economic rights of the Sudanese citizens. In this release, ACJPS has documented an incident where RSF and allied militia allegedly participated in the looting of 35 vehicles including those delivering humanitarian aid to Sudanese citizens in Aljazeera state.

ظل المركز الأفريقي للعدالة ودراسات السلام (ACJPS) يسعى لإيصال صوت النساء السودانيات وذلك من خلال توثيق حوادث وشهادات الناجيات من العنف الجنسي خلال النزاع المسلح المستمر في السودان مع التركيز على حوداث الإغتصاب والاستعباد الجنسي. و توضح الشهادات الواردة في هذا البيان إلى أن الاغتصاب هو ممارسة ممنهجة لدى قوات الدعم السريع شبه العسكرية في مناطق النزاع ومجموعات قطاع الطرق التي تستغل الفوضى. جميع الأسماء المستخدمة في هذا البيان هي أسماء مستعارة لحماية الضحايا.

Almost 8 months since the conflict in Sudan broke out, Sudanese civilians continue to face a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, mass atrocities, and a looming risk of genocide with no end in sight. Children, women and girls, are bearing the heaviest brunt of the war. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Sudan has the world's largest displacement rate; with more than 7 million people displaced inside and outside Sudan. According to UN OCHA, more than 12.190 people have been reported killed since the fighting broke out. The conflict and political dynamics have been shifting rapidly. The main two belligerent factions have continued escalating attacks in different strategic regions in Sudan to gain more territory and supremacy: including in Darfur, Kordofan and Khartoum. The conflict is becoming protracted and expanding to the borders of South Sudan. It is an overall situation of chaos and terrorizing civilians. Sudan is no longer solely an internal conflict as it has clear regional ramifications and therefore is a matter of regional stability and international peace and security. Various reports suggest that external powers are fueling the conflict in Sudan through supporting the belligerents, including allegations of supply of weapons.

وصف موجز للوضع الراهن في السودان تلامس الحرب في السودان إكتمال شهرها الثامن، في حين يبقى المدنيون السودانيون في مواجهة أزمة إنسانية كارثية، وفظائع جماعية، وخطر إبادة جماعية يلوح في الأفق دون نهاية منظورة. و ينصب عبء الحرب الأكبر على الأطفال والنساء والفتيات. وقد نزح أكثر من 7 ملايين شخص داخل السودان وخارجه وفقاً للمنظمة الدولية للهجرة، وبذلك يسجل السودان أكبر معدل نزوح في العالم. في وقت أفاد فيه مكتب الأمم المتحدة لتنسيق الشؤون الإنسانية، بإحصاء أكثر من 12.190 شخصا من اللذين فقدوا أرواحهم منذ إشتعال الحرب.

يرحب المركز الأفريقي لدراسات العدالة والسلام بالقرار الصادر عن مجلس السلم والأمن التابع للاتحاد الأفريقي في اجتماعه الوزاري رقم 1185، بشأن الوضع في السودان، والذي يقضي بإنشاء فريق رفيع المستوى للتعامل مع النزاع المسلح الدائر في السودان.

The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) welcomes a resolution of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) at its 1185th meeting, held at the Ministerial level on the Situation in Sudan establishing a high-level panel to deal with the ongoing armed conflict in Sudan.

تتسارع وتيرة الحرب الدائرة في السودان مع سيطرة قوات الدعم السريع على مناطق جديدة، سواء بعد هزيمة القوات المسلحة السودانية في المعارك أو بعد إنسحابها من تلك المواقع. يمثل أكتوبر 2023 بداية مرحلة جديدة في يوميات الحرب، فمنذ سيطرة قوات الدعم السريع على قيادة الفرقة 16 في مدينة نيالا عاصمة جنوب دارفور وإنسحاب القوات المسلحة منها بقيادة اللواء حسين جادات الذي ظهر لاحقاً في قاعدة وادي سيدنا. توالت عمليات انسحاب القوات المسلحة لتشمل الفرقة 21 بمدينة زالنجي وسط دارفور، والتي سبقتها سيطرة الدعم السريع على أم دافوق ومنواشي وكاس ثم حاميتي كلبس وصليعة التي تزامن الانسحاب منها مع حامية أردمتا في غرب دارفور. كذلك إنسحبت القوات المسلحة من حامية الردوم بجنوب دارفور ودخلت أراضي أفريقيا الوسطى المجاورة. وتنبع اهمية هذه الحاميه كونها المدخل لمدينة راجا بجنوب السودان. بعد ذلك سيطرت قوات الدعم السريع على الفرقة 20 في الضعين وانسحاب حاميتي عديلة وأبوكاريتكا بشرق دارفور.

The African Center for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) has continued to magnify the voices of Sudanese women by documenting incidents and testimonies of survivors of sexual violence during the ongoing armed conflict in Sudan with emphasis on rape and sexual slavery. The testimonies in this release indicate that rape is a systematic practice in areas of conflict by mainly the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and bandit groups that take advantage of the chaos. All names used in this release are pseudonyms to protect victims.