At least 25 military commanders in Sudan have been placed at the scene of systemic wartime sexual violence, according to a landmark open-source investigation into the nation's catastrophic civil war.
The findings, published by the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) and reported by Al Jazeera, map the physical presence of senior officers across five key locations during periods when severe sexual assaults against civilians were documented.
Since fighting erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), rights groups have repeatedly accused combatants of deploying sexual violence as a calculated weapon of terror.
Open-source trail exposes command presence
Investigators utilised open-source intelligence methods, cross-referencing satellite imagery, geolocated video footage, and verified social media records to identify the commanders.
Al Jazeera reported that the CIR investigation established the operational presence of military leaders at military bases, checkpoints, and urban centres during temporal windows in which documented rapes, gang rapes, and related abuses took place. The researchers tracked troop deployments and verified digital footprints left by combatants to reconstruct chains of command.
By demonstrating that identifiable commanding officers were present at the material time, the investigation directly challenges assertions by military leadership that such acts were mere isolated incidents carried out by rogue elements. The material provides evidentiary foundations that legal experts argue could support future prosecutions under command responsibility doctrines.
Systematic weaponisation of sexual assault
The conflict has plunged Sudan into what the United Nations categorises as one of the world's most acute humanitarian disasters. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, and more than 10 million have been forced from their homes.
Amid the collapse of state infrastructure, women and girls have borne the brunt of targeted atrocities. Human rights organisations have documented instances of sexual violence used systematically to humiliate communities, terrorise civilian populations, and enforce territorial control, particularly across the capital, Khartoum, and the scarred western region of Darfur.
Survivors and local medical personnel have continually reported instances of women being targeted in their homes, at makeshift camps for internally displaced persons, and while attempting to flee combat zones. In many recorded instances, victims were detained for extended periods and subjected to repeated violations.
Mounting calls for international accountability
The investigative findings increase pressure on the international community, including bodies such as the International Criminal Court (ICC), to pursue formal indictments against leadership figures on both sides of the conflict.
The ICC has already confirmed that it is investigating war crimes and crimes against humanity committed across Darfur, where ethnically motivated violence has surged alongside the broader power struggle between SAF chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
Diplomatic observers and international humanitarian agencies maintain that documenting command presence is an indispensable step toward breaking the cycle of impunity that has long defined Sudanese conflicts. Without rigorous documentation, human rights advocates warn, those orchestrating and tolerating sexual atrocities will evade accountability while the civilian population continues to endure widespread catastrophe.