31.10.2024 |
Warning: This story contains details some may find distressing.
Several women have taken their lives in Sudan’s central Gezira state after being raped by paramilitary fighters in the brutal civil war raging in the country, rights groups and activists have said.
The reports come after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was accused by the UN of «atrocious crimes», including mass killings, in the state last week.
With RSF fighters continuing to advance, one rights group has told the BBC it is in contact with six women who are contemplating taking their own lives as they fear being sexually assaulted.
But the RSF has dismissed a recent UN report blaming a rise in sexual violence on its combatants, telling the BBC the accusations «were not based on evidence».
Source: Sudan civil war: Women raped by RSF fighters in Gezira state die by suicide, activists say