UN Officials Call Sexual Violence In Sudan Advertising Scale

Sudanese refugee camps affected by armed conflict. (Wikimedia Commons/VOA/Henry Wilkins)

JAKARTA - Sexual violence perpetrated amid the Sudanese conflict is on a scale that addresses it, a UN official told the Security Council.

"The worrying story about sexual violence heard from people fleeing to Port Sudan is only a small part of the repetitive scaled from conflict points across the country," said UN aid senior official Edem Wosornu, as reported by The National News on August 10.

Furthermore, Wosornu, who is the director of operations and advocacy at the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told of her visit to Sudan two weeks ago.

"Women and girls I spoke to share stories about being forced to flee from their homes... They talked about sexual violence, harassment, and physical attacks. About a husband who disappeared and was never seen again. About education being cut off, careers destroyed, and livelihoods lost. Teachers and nurses who left their homes on unpaid salaries," he said.

It is known that a brutal war broke out in Sudan on April 15 between the country's military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Separately, the United States previously accused an "armed actor" of committing a sexual assault crime.

Meanwhile, British Ambassador to the United Nations Barbara Woodward blamed both sides for international humanitarian law violations, at a UN Security Council meeting.

Currently, 3.2 million people have fled domestically and 900,000 people have fled to neighboring countries, including Chad, Egypt, and South Sudan.

"Today's terrible situation. A fight broke out in the center of Omdurman and there were bullets and shrapnel around our house. Too many civilians were injured. Most of them couldn't even go to the hospital for treatment. The bodies were in the streets and no one could move to save the injured," said Doctor Rashid Mukhtar, volunteer from Project Hope's international health and humanitarian organization.

"People are increasingly having difficulty accessing urgent medical assistance, with 80 percent of hospitals across the country not functioning," added Wosornu.