SEXUAL violence against women and girls is being used as a weapon of war in Sudan’s fierce conflict between the army and paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces, an aid group warned on Tuesday.

Sudan slid into chaos in April 2023 when a power struggle between the two forces exploded into conflict.

The Doctors Without Borders (MSF) report details accounts by women who were gang raped in the South Darfur and North Darfur regions.

The medics said at least 3,396 survivors of sexual violence sought treatment at their facilities between January 2024 and November 2025. Most identified the perpetrators as armed men, with 60 per cent of the cases in South Darfur involving multiple perpetrators.

In one example, a survivor said: “They took us to an open area. The first man raped me twice, the second once, the third four times.”

The International Criminal Court is investigating mass killings, gang rapes and other crimes during the conflict as potential war crimes and crimes against humanity.

MSF emergency co-ordinator Myriam Laroussi, who was in Tawila, North Darfur, supporting teams in late 2025 after the fall of El Fasher, told journalists at the report launch in Nairobi, Kenya, that the numbers captured in the report were just a “tip of the iceberg” and the scale of sexual violence is bigger in areas where MSF lacks access.

An MSF midwife, Gloria Endreo, said her team saw an average of 10 to 15 women daily, with most coming after the initial 72-hour period which is considered critical for treating injuries and trauma, avoiding infections and preventing unwanted pregnancies.

Most victims have to walk for days or get a camel ride to Tawila.

“As healthcare practitioners, we consider the 72 hours as a golden period because we provide a lot of care within that period,” Ms Endreo said.

“Sexual violence affects not just the victims but the broader community because in some cases the girls were raped in front of their mothers and grandparents,” said Andreza Trajano, a sexual health specialist at MSF.

MSF urged the United Nations to have a stronger presence in Sudan to help respond to the needs of communities.

The devastating war has killed more than 40,000 people, according to UN figures, but aid groups say that is an undercount and that the true number could be many times higher.