Sudan Investigation Maps Commanders Linked to Wartime Rape

An open-source investigative unit has released a comprehensive report examining sexual violence in Sudan, mapping commanders linked to multiple locations where abuses occurred during the ongoing civil conflict. Published on Monday by the Centre for Information Resilience, the findings focus on twenty-five commanders whose presence aligns with periods of reported atrocities documented by human rights groups and the United Nations. The three-year war involving the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces, alongside various allied groups, has featured widespread reports of sexual violence. Investigators cross-referenced commander sightings with survivor accounts and incident records across five specific regions, though the analysis notes that presence in an area does not automatically establish personal responsibility or direct orders for specific crimes.

Among the figures highlighted in the investigation is Khademallah Khashmin Herika, also known as Shiraz Khalid, a major leading the Rapid Support Forces female contingent. A video posted on TikTok in late October 2025 captured her addressing fighters and explicitly encouraging them to target women in Sudan's Northern State. While exact filming locations could not be verified, separate footage placed her in el-Fasher and Garni, where survivors detailed detentions and sexual assaults. In el-Fasher, United Nations missions documented mass and gang assaults during the paramilitary takeover, including incidents at the Saudi Hospital and local university campuses.

Senior leadership within the Rapid Support Forces also features in the review. Investigators verified deputy commander Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo near the former sixth infantry division base and the Saudi Hospital in late 2025. Drone footage from the same period captured audio instructing artillery units to target fleeing vehicles near an el-Fasher embankment, with analysts matching the voice to Dagalo. Other regional commanders, including Gedo Hamdan Ahmed and Abuaqla Mohamed Ahmed Alwakil, were tracked across multiple offensives in Wad Madani and displacement camps, where allied forces faced accusations of abductions and assaults.

Investigative unit CIR identifies 25 commanders present at five sites during periods of reported sexual violence.

Control of Wad Madani shifted when Alwakil defected to the army, later commanding the Sudan Shield Forces during the city's recapture by government troops. Subsequent reports from international observers and local monitoring groups detailed abuses committed by forces under his command in surrounding settlements. The Sudanese Armed Forces and allied factions, such as the Baraa Bin Malik Brigade, were similarly scrutinized for incidents in Gezira, including the public mistreatment of detained individuals near Hantoub Bridge. Major-General Abdelmoneim Abdelbasit Mohamed was placed in Wad Madani during the military's counteroffensive, marking command structures on both sides of the conflict.

Representatives for both the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces did not respond to media inquiries regarding the investigation findings. Both factions have consistently denied all previous allegations of sexual violence committed by their personnel throughout the duration of the conflict.