In Darfur, "demons on horseback" rape with impunity

Used as a weapon of war by the ousted Omar Al-Bashir regime, sexual violence is still used against ethnic minorities in western Sudan.

 

The janjaweed… Their name is on everyone's lips, pronounced with fear. It designates in Sudan the armed Arab militias, equipped and paid by the Al-Bashir regime, which carried out attacks coordinated with the regular army. These "demons on horseback" (literal translation) subsequently constituted a breeding ground for the recruitment of the Rapid Support Forces (FSR), paramilitary units formed in 2013 alongside government forces and today guilty of numerous abuses against civilian populations.
In Sudanese society, rape is a taboo, casting shame and dishonor on families, clans, tribes. The victims, singled out as criminals, are no longer accepted by their community.