Peacekeepers dismiss mass rape in Darfur, UN officials doubtful
November 10, 2014 (KHARTOUM/NEW YORK) – The hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) on Monday said no evidence was found proving claims of mass rape in North Darfur.
The UNAMID on Monday released a press statement and held a press conference in El-Fasher in presence of the state deputy governor to say that an investigation team was finally in Tabit village, to verify media claims of mass rape of some 200 women by Sudanese military personnel.
“The team spent several hours touring the village and interviewing a variety of Tabit’s residents; including community leaders, ordinary men and women, teachers and students to ascertain the veracity of the media reports,” the statement said.
The joint mission further underscored that none of those interviewed confirmed that any incident of rape took place in Tabit on the day of that media report, adding “the team neither found any evidence nor received any information regarding the media allegations during the period in question.”
UN OFFICIALS DOUBTFUL
The head of the verification team in El-Fasher told reporters they sent a report to the UN headquarters in New York and Geneva dismissing the incident, adding the UN Security Council will discuss the issue on Monday evening.
In a media briefing at the UN headquarters in New York, the Australian ambassador to the United Nations, Gary Quinlan, who chairs the Security Council for this month, confirmed that they were briefed by Edmond Mulet, assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations and Ms. Zainab Hawa Bangura, UN special representative of the secretary-general on sexual violence.
Mulet, advised that the UNAMID verification team had been denied access from four to nine November.
Bangura told the Council by VTC from Geneva that “there had been a heavy military presence during the team’s visit and she stressed that while the rape allegations remained unverified, in her view it was not possible to conclude that no sexual violence took place,” said Quinlan.
He went further to say that the Sierra Leonean diplomat further stressed in her briefing to the Security Council that “it was critical for the UNAMID to have un restricted access to Tabit to complete the investigations and provide humanitarian and medical assistance”.
On 7 November, Bangura issued a strong statement, calling Khartoum to o allow “immediate and unhindered” access for an investigation team to Tabit.
Khartoum government did not permit her nor the predecessor to visit Sudan.
SECURITY COUNCIL CONCERNED
The one-week denial of access and the conditions of the probe by the fact-finding team did not seemingly clear up the allegation against the Sudanese army.
However, Council’s members stressed on the denial of access saying it is a breach to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the government of Sudan and UNAMID.
“Many Council members expressed concerns about the fact that, in particular, the access had been denied,” said Quinlan.
“Many Council members said it was imperative that UNAMID was able to investigate such allegations and those responsible be held to account,” he concluded.
The Sudanese army on Sunday said UNAMID investigation team had been denied because they did not seek the required permission.
The military spokesperson of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) al-Sawarmi Khaled stressed in a press conference on Sunday that “reports about the mass rape by SAF soldiers are baseless,” pointing out that the armed forces are affected by the loss of one of its military in the village.
He confirmed that a corporal is missing and that the search operation conducted in the village did not allow to find him.
The Sudanese military are accused of committing the rape during a night search operation in the village.
(ST)
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