Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Saturday criticized a report by Strategic Initiative Network for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA), claiming that RSF forces abducted women and girls, calling the allegations “fabricated” and “baseless”.
The group said it had “meticulously” examined the “fabricated” SIHA statement and that facts on the ground bore no resemblance to anything in mentioned in the report.
The group added that RSF leadership “closely monitors the behavior of its personnel and strictly prohibits all forms of abuse.”
“We will not shield or provide cover to any RSF member engaged in criminal or unethical behavior. To address any wrongdoing on the ground, we have established the Field Committee on Negative Acts of Violence to promptly prosecute offenders,” RSF said.
Sudanese group also accused SIHA of being tasked to disseminate false narratives by its “extremist minders.”
“The facts on the ground in the areas under our protection, where civilians are now voluntarily returning to their homes, bear no resemblance to the situation as described in these allegations.”
RSF also reiterated its call for support to anyone seeking to uncover the facts in Sudan and repeated its call to international community and human rights organizations to “obtain accurate and reliable information from credible sources” and “draw their own conclusions about this war, free from the lies spread by the former regime.”
The RSF statement said that unfounded accusations will not hinder the organization from carrying out its moral and humanitarian duties towards the people of Sudan.
“Together, we will persist in our fight to eradicate the terror-driven former regime and its allied militias — and build a renewed Sudanese state founded on the principles of freedom, peace, justice and democracy.”
Sudan has since April 15, 2023 been plunged into a civil war pitting army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
The conflict has resulted in a devastating toll, with over 12,190 casualties and the displacement of more than seven million people, according to estimates by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project and UN figures, respectively.
Mediation efforts have faced significant obstacles due to deep-seated animosity between the rival factions. Despite Burhan’s administration continuing to issue statements as Sudan’s government, Dagalo’s Rapid Support Forces assert control over Khartoum’s streets, Darfur, and a substantial part of Al-Jazira, once Sudan’s vital agricultural region.
