Sudan war: report maps 25 commanders linked to sexual violence
A British open-source investigation identifies 25 commanders from Sudan's warring forces whose ranks and movements coincide with locations and periods of reported sexual violence.
At a glance
- CIR identified 25 commanders from Sudan's RSF, army and allied forces at five locations and periods of reported sexual violence.
- The report does not establish that any commander personally committed or ordered rape, citing limits on available data.
- Britain sanctioned 15 senior commanders from both forces on October 26; the list is separate from CIR's 25.
The Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), a British open-source investigative organisation, has identified 25 commanders whose ranks and movements place them at five locations and periods of reported sexual violence in Sudan's war, in a report published on Monday.
The investigation covers the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), which have been fighting a three-year-long war, as well as allied forces. It links commanders' appearances and roles to evidence gathered by the United Nations, rights groups and Sudanese organisations.
A video and a girls' detention
On the day the RSF entered el-Fasher in October 2025, a TikTok video showed one of its commanders addressing fighters. CIR identifies her as Khademallah Khashmin Herika, also known as Shiraz Khalid, a major commanding the RSF's female contingent, and calls her words an explicit incitement to rape women in Northern State, hundreds of kilometres away. CIR could not establish exactly where the video, posted on October 26, 2025, was filmed. Separate footage placed her in el-Fasher and in Garni, where survivors described girls being detained and raped.
Senior officers named
The most senior RSF officer identified around el-Fasher was Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, deputy commander and brother of RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti. CIR verified him at the army's former 6th Infantry Division base on October 26, 2025, and at the Saudi Hospital on November 4. In drone footage from October 27, a voice matched by CIR to Dagalo instructs artillery commander Hussein Abu Jalak to pursue vehicles fleeing outside the city.
RSF sector commander Gedo Hamdan Ahmed, known as Ibn Shouk, appears at Zamzam displacement camp during the RSF's April 2025 assault and around el-Fasher during its takeover six months later, linking two offensives under the same regional command.
Abuaqla Mohamed Ahmed Alwakil, known as Kaykal, was appointed to command an RSF division in Wad Madani on December 19, 2023, and verified there on December 24, the day the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa documented the rape of seven women at the city's Industrial School. He defected to the army in October 2024 and was verified in Wad Madani in January 2025 now commanding the Sudan Shield Forces, whose fighters the UN human rights office said abducted 13 women and a man from Tayba camp.
Footage from Gezira shows fighters beating and sexually degrading a detained man before pushing him off Hantoub Bridge, in an attack CIR linked by insignia to army-allied forces.
What the evidence does not show
CIR identifies commanders who exercised authority where atrocities were reported but does not establish that any personally committed or ordered rape. It says data limitations prevent it from attributing individual responsibility for specific incidents. Presence, rank and repeated appearances can guide further investigation, it adds, but cannot alone establish criminal guilt.
The RSF and SAF did not respond to Al Jazeera's requests for comment and have previously denied allegations of sexual violence by their personnel. On October 26, Britain sanctioned 15 senior commanders from both forces over suspected atrocities, a list separate from CIR's 25 and not equivalent to criminal convictions.
For survivors, stigma, insecurity and inaccessible services continue to obstruct treatment and testimony.
Source: Al Jazeera.
Questions and answers
- What did the CIR investigation into Sudan find?
- It identified 25 commanders from the RSF, the Sudanese Armed Forces and allied groups whose appearances and roles place them at five locations and periods of reported sexual violence.
- Does the report prove individual commanders ordered rape?
- No. CIR says it has reasonable grounds to believe the commanders were directly or indirectly responsible, but data limits prevent it from attributing individual responsibility for specific incidents.
- Did Britain sanction the commanders named in the report?
- Britain sanctioned 15 senior commanders from both forces on October 26 over suspected atrocities including conflict-related sexual violence. That list is separate from CIR's 25 commanders.
