MSF Reports 3,396 Sexual Violence Survivors Treated in Darfur Clinics

Médecins Sans Frontières reported on Wednesday that its clinics across Darfur treated 3,396 survivors of conflict-related sexual violence between June 2024 and March 2026. Of those treated, 97% were women and girls. The youngest survivor was nine years old.

The figures, published in a report titled "Weapon of War: Sexual Violence in Darfur," represent only cases that reached MSF facilities. The actual number is "certainly far higher," the organization said, given that most of Darfur's health infrastructure has been destroyed and many survivors cannot travel to clinics.

Scale of the Crisis

Sudan's civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began in April 2023. The conflict has killed an estimated 24,000 people and displaced 12.5 million, according to the United Nations. Darfur, the western region that was the site of a genocide in the 2000s, has experienced some of the war's worst violence.

MSF said the sexual violence was "systematic and widespread," concentrated in areas controlled or contested by the RSF. The report documented attacks during home invasions, at checkpoints, in displacement camps, and during attempts to flee fighting.

"These are not isolated incidents," said Claire Nicolet, MSF's head of emergencies, at a press conference in Geneva. "The pattern, scale, and consistency of testimony from survivors across multiple locations point to the use of sexual violence as a deliberate weapon of war."

The RSF did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters, the Associated Press, or Al Jazeera.

Medical Response Under Fire

MSF operates 11 clinics in Darfur providing sexual violence care, including emergency contraception, post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV, and psychological support. The organization said that 68% of survivors who reached its facilities arrived more than 72 hours after the assault, beyond the window for some critical medical interventions.

"Getting to a clinic in Darfur means crossing checkpoints where the same forces that committed the violence control the roads," said Dr. Natalie Roberts, MSF's medical coordinator for Sudan, speaking by satellite phone from El Fasher. "Many women tell us they were assaulted again while trying to seek help."

Three MSF facilities in North Darfur were attacked or looted in 2025, forcing temporary closures that left tens of thousands without any medical care, the organization said.

International Response

The United Nations Human Rights Council established a fact-finding mission on Sudan in October 2024. The mission's interim report, published in January 2026, found "reasonable grounds to believe" that the RSF committed crimes against humanity, including systematic rape.

The International Criminal Court's prosecutor, Karim Khan, said in February that his office was investigating sexual violence in Darfur as part of a broader probe into war crimes. No arrest warrants have been issued.

The United States imposed sanctions on two RSF commanders in December 2025 for their roles in sexual violence, according to the Treasury Department. The European Union added three RSF-linked individuals to its sanctions list in January.

But enforcement remains limited. Sudan expert Alex de Waal, executive director of the World Peace Foundation at Tufts University, told the BBC that sanctions "have had no measurable deterrent effect" because the RSF's leadership operates outside the international financial system.

Aid Access Collapse

The MSF report noted that international funding for Sudan's humanitarian response is at 14% of the $4.1 billion requested for 2026, according to UN OCHA's Financial Tracking Service. The United States, historically the largest donor, has cut humanitarian aid budgets by 60% under the current administration.

WFP said last week that 60% of its emergency food kitchens in Sudan had closed due to funding shortfalls and access restrictions. An estimated 25 million Sudanese — roughly half the population — face acute food insecurity, the agency said.

"Sudan is the world's worst humanitarian crisis, and it is being met with the world's worst humanitarian response," said Tom Fletcher, the UN's emergency relief coordinator, in a statement on March 28.

MSF called on all parties to the conflict to guarantee safe passage for survivors seeking medical care and for the international community to increase funding for sexual violence services. The organization said it would publish a full epidemiological analysis of its treatment data in May.