UN warns Sudan's war triggers massive mental health crisismassive mental health crisis from sexual violence
United Nations agencies reported on April 29, 2026, that widespread sexual violence by warring parties in Sudan, including the army and Rapid Support Forces, has caused a severe mental health crisis. The conflict, ongoing since April 2023, has killed tens of thousands and displaced 11 million, with thousands of women and girls seeking treatment for rape, though numbers likely represent only a fraction of cases due to stigma and access barriers.
- Darfur genocide began in 2003, with Janjaweed militias targeting non-Arab ethnic groups.
- Sudan's 22-year civil war from 1983 devastated the south, killing over two million.
- El Fasher lies in western Sudan, near Chad border in arid Sahel region.
Sudan Civil War
Sudan's civil war has entered its fourth year, increasingly resembling a war of attrition defined by a de facto territorial division between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with the SAF recently reclaiming the presidential palace in central Khartoum as a major tactical victory[1][3].
1 January
Open fighting breaks out between the SAF and RSF and spreads across Sudan.1 January
Talks over integrating the RSF into the army fail to resolve the power struggle.1 January
A military takeover ends the civilian transition and deepens rivalry between Burhan and Hemedti.
