Sudan dismisses documentation of army’s role in Darfur slave-taking
December 17, 2008 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese Foreign Ministry today dismissed documentation of the Sudanese army’s role in systematic abduction of civilians in Darfur for the purposes of sexual slavery and forced labour, but not did refer specifically to any of the cases pointed to in the report.
Field research in Darfur conducted by the Darfur Consortium over the
last two years indicated that “many hundreds of people have been abducted during the
course of the conflict, but the true figure is likely to be in the thousands.”
The report compared the campaign of abductions in Darfur to the joint attacks carried out from 1983-2005 by Murahaleen militias and the Sudanese Armed Forces. No one was ever found guilty of these abductions in a court.
Ambassador Ali Sadiq, the spokesperson of foreign ministry, called the 22-page report “naïve” and “ignorant.” He said it was fabricated by foreign intelligence services.
According to the report, abductees are generally kept for field labour, sexual slavery or forced marriage.
Janjaweed militia strongholds such as Kabkabiya, Saraf Umra, Alsiraif Bani Hussain and Bidair were the detention or transit points for hundreds of abductees, said witnesses.
There are reports of abductions and forced labour from around Zalinjai, particularly the area of Shedi, around Coroly, Bundisi and Um Dukhun, Kubra, Dunbar, to the east of Zalinjai, and in the area extending from Wadi Toro to Abata. This practice has also been identified in the area of Tuwal, near Buram in South Darfur and in Kabkabiya, Saraf Umra and Alsiraif Banu Hussain in North Darfur, according to Darfur Consortium.
In other cases, abducted women and girls were moved outside of Darfur, mainly to the capital, Khartoum, said the report, where they were forced to act as a wife to a man that they did not know.
For instance, according to a lawyer in Khartoum, one group of women was brought from Darfur and distributed among members of a PDF militia living in the capital.
The two main rebel movements in Darfur are the Sudan Liberation and the Justice and Equality Movement. Their members are predominantly African-based ethnic groups, particularly the Fur, Massaliet and Zagawa. These are the groups that are allegedly targeted for abductions.
About 300,000 people have died since conflict began in Darfur in 2003 and at least 2.7 million people have fled their homes. The government denies that this occurred or blames rebels, bandits, climate change or tribal fighting.
Sadiq accused the slavery report of trying to deflect attention from Sudan’s “ongoing cooperation” with international organizations.
The Darfur Consortium called on Sudan to disarm and disband the Janjaweed, the Popular Defence Forces (PDF) and other militia.
The Darfur Consortium is a coalition of more than 50 Africa-based and Africa-focused NGOs.
(ST)