Sudan: Group decries abductions, sexual slavery in Khor Jahannam
November 26, 2023 (KHARTOUM) – New trends of violations have also emerged, including the abduction of women and girls and forcible transfer to other states of Sudan,, with brutal torture and the potential for developing into sexual slavery and trafficking, a group said in a new report.
Eyewitness testimonies, African Center for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) said, indicate that these violations were committed by individuals wearing Rapid Support Forces (RSF) uniforms.
This report was a compiled field research conducted by dedicated researchers from the ACJPS.
The researchers, according to the human rights advocacy group, contacted 41 reliable sources in various locations in Sudan’s Darfur region, including El Daein, El Fasher, Kabkabkabiya, Kutum, Dar El Salam, Tabat, Khor Mali, Qallab, Sharfa in North Darfur and Nyala in South Darfur.
The report also included testimonies from survivors, eyewitnesses, and relatives of kidnappers. The research took place over three months (May-July 2023). All witnesses provided their testimonies voluntarily and with full knowledge that their names would be withheld for their safety
The outbreak of the war in April 2023 in Sudan, has led to a large wave of refugees and the displacement of nearly 3 million people, the advocacy group said, citing increase in violations.
“These violations include aerial bombardment of civilians, public and private facilities, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and rape. The ongoing war and the history of both warring parties have made these violations disturbingly prominent. Military headquarters of the warring parties in the center of cities have facilitated raids on houses and attacks on civilians”, it stated.
Despite these reports, however, the identities of some of the victims, numbering in the dozens,including girls, reportedly remain shrouded in mystery due to kidnappings in the areas of AbuAdam, Jabra, As-Salama, Iad Hussein, south of Al-Hazm, and Al-Azhari in Khartoum.
On social media, it noted, there are announcements accompanied by photos of a number of girls who have been kidnapped since the beginning of the war, in addition to the names that have been published on the lists of the disappeared by some human rights entities.
“Ten cases of women, including four female beverage and food vendors, who were detained, sexually exploited, and forced into prostitution by the kidnappers, were spotted at the Guarantee Hotel and the New Testament building of the Coptic Churchand the Stock Exchange in Nyala, South Darfur, by individuals dressed in RSF’s uniforms, since 25 June 2023”, ACJPS said.
Meanwhile the 11-page report urged the RSF command to save the kidnapped women, amid calls to both the international and regional communities to pressurize both warring parties to release all those arrested.
The report also called upon the parties to the conflict to facilitate the safe access of the International Red Cross to all areas mentioned in the report and the possible presence of the abducted women.
(ST)