Govt. forces rape, wreak havoc in South Kordofan

The Human Rights and Development Organisation (Hudo) has recorded a number of incidents of violence against civilians committed by government forces in the area of Kadugli, capital of South Kordofan, last month.

According to Dr Bushra Gamar, chairman of Hudo, recent attacks on civilians in the South Kordofani Nuba Mountains by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Popular Defence Forces (PDF), and other security troops have not been reported yet.

He told Dabanga in an interview on Sunday that the “second batch” of RSF militia fighters, who arrived at Kadugli at the end of January, is responsible for at least eight rape cases within four days. “The militiamen knocked on doors in the town, asking if there were any women in the house. They also pillaged many homes in the capital.

“The RSF fighters also plundered Kadugli’s En Neem market. The owners of eight groceries and 25 other shops were robbed of their merchandise, according to the police,” Dr Gamar reported. “The police ordered the RSF militia to return the stolen goods to the legitimate owners.”

He stressed that the most atrocious attack on civilians in the South Kordofani Nuba Mountains in February occurred in the village of Kadeer, 22 km northwest of El Abbasiya.

“A group of some 150 militiamen in uniforms of the army and the PDF, riding in 18 Land Cruisers, torched the houses of the about 600 villagers, on the pretext that they failed to retrieve their youth who allegedly joined the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North.

“Villagers Abdelmutalab Tibin, Radwan Eisa Ahmed, and Mohamed Ahmed Adam were wounded, and taken to El Abbasiya Hospital by security forces. The authorities prevented their families to visit them and take them to another place for treatment.”

Dr Gamar said that the continuing violence against civilians in the Nuba Mountains forced the authorities to transfer the militia batch to Nyala, capital of South Darfur, “where they committed more crimes”.