Rape incident rattles town in Sudan’s West Kordofan state

September 13, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – A mass rape incident has shocked the town of Shomoaa in West Kordofan state sparking heated debate among residents and calls for asserting security in the turbulent areas of Kordofan which suffer from the wide proliferation of illegal weapons.

Eyewitnesses recounted that masked armed men intercepted eight girls who were walking on their way to the University of Peace and forced them at gunpoint to accompany them to an abandoned house where they were gang raped.

According to the eyewitnesses, one girl was taken to Babanousa hospital in a critical condition.

The incident triggered resentment and concern among bloggers on social media networks demanding deployment of police forces in remote areas and confiscating illegal arms which are common in the states of Darfur and Kordofan.

The commissioner of Al-Foula locality rushed to Babanousa hospital to check on the students and directed the security authorities to capture the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

(ST)