Villagers dismiss rape claims
Residents of Tabit Village in North Darfur, Sudan. Residents of Tabit Village have protested over claims that women were raped by soldiers. PHOTO | ASHRAF SHAZLY |
What you need to know:
- On Nov 4, Radio Dabanga, which supports the armed groups in Darfur, alleged over 200 women from Tabit were raped by government forces, while the Sudanese government refuted the claims.
- But even after it was allowed to access the area to investigate the rape claims, it announced that it did not find any evidence on mass rape in the village, Khartoum’s anger continued, particularly after the mission asked to conduct a second investigation, which Khartoum rejected.
TABIT
Residents of Tabit Village in Sudan’s North Darfur State have protested over claims that women were raped by soldiers.
Villagers from the area, some 45km north of El Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur State, organised a demonstration to condemn what they termed as “lies and deliberate distortion of women’s honour.”
A number of officials of the Darfur Regional Authority (DRA), local officials and tribal leaders from the area took part in the demonstration.
“Tabit area is stable and the Sudanese Armed Forces are present at the area protecting citizens,” said Abdul-Karum Mussa, DRA Information Minister when addressing the demonstration.
“The purpose behind the rape claims is to create tension in the area and cause division among the population in Tabit,” he noted.
On Nov 4, Radio Dabanga, which supports the armed groups in Darfur, alleged over 200 women from Tabit were raped by government forces, while the Sudanese government refuted the claims.
BASELESS LIES
One day later, the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNamid) announced that government troops denied the mission access to Tabit to investigate the claims.
But even after it was allowed to access the area to investigate the rape claims, it announced that it did not find any evidence on mass rape in the village, Khartoum’s anger continued, particularly after the mission asked to conduct a second investigation, which Khartoum rejected.
Al-Hady Abdalla Abdul-Rahman, commissioner of Tawila locality, from which Tabit is administratively affiliated, threatened to sue UNamid over what he regarded as a defamation of the reputation of the women of the area.
“These are baseless lies targeting the reputation and honour of our women. We will not stand by as we get violated.
SHAMEFUL RUMOUR
We will sue all those involved, top of them UNamid,” said Abdul-Rahman when addressing the demonstration.
“The village has not witnessed any case of rape. We are surprised at this shameful rumour which targets our honour as women," Fatima Younis, Chairperson of the women union in Tabit, told Xinhua.
“We, as women, have followed these lies through the media, but they are just allegations that meant to target the social fabric in this village and cripple its development projects,” she noted.
