Herders ‘rape 2, injure 5’ in series of attacks

Armed herders wearing military uniforms have reportedly raped two girls and beat five farmers, two of them female, in Mershing area, South Darfur, eye-witnesses told Radio Dabanga. They said the herders let their livestock graze in the victims’ farms during the attacks that happened between Saturday and Tuesday, 1 and 4 December. Sources claimed that three herders were reponsible for the assaults, adding they were riding camels. On Saturday, herders raped two girls and beat the farmer Adam Ibrahim after stealing his horse-cart as he was leaving his farm, according to onlookers. The next day, the perpetrators allegedly assaulted a farmer called Jibril and tried raping his daughter, Asmaa, while they were exiting their land. When the victims resisted the attack, the herders beat them with rifle butts causing Asmaa a serious head injury, a source told Radio Dabanga.  Maryam Mohamed Kouso, who is nine months pregnant, and her aunt Fatima were assaulted on Monday while returning home from their farm, an eye-witness recounted. He added that Kouso is now bedridden in a hospital. The last attack occurred on Tuesday, when herders shot in the direction of farmer Ali Toussa, who was not injured, sources said.   A farmer told Radio Dabanga he notified the police on time about the incidents, but they did not do anything about it.   He stressed that ‘a state of terror prevails now in the region’ and asked UNAMID, the state and local authorities to protect them and put an end to the attacks.Radio Dabanga file photoSee also: Herders critically injure four displaced, sources (29 November 2012)