Khartoum escorts reporters to Tabit for inquiring on mass rape

Several journalists from national media in Sudan are being escorted today to Tabit in North Darfur to report on the alleged mass rape in the village on 31 October. The reporters are accompanied by police, armed forces, and security personnel only a day after authorities denied the UN access for further inquiries, claiming that raising the issue again would “anger the local population”.The undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abdalla El Azrag, said the foreign ministry of Sudan officially informed Unamid that raising the issue of the mass rape again may have ‘dire consequences’. The government officially rejected an appeal by the UN Security Council for further investigations in the rape case. El Azrag stressed to the media that “there are no guarantees that the angry villagers would not clash with the mission’s team”.Instead of allowing Unamid into Tabit, the government is now facilitating scores of reporters to carry out inquiries. Most reporters identified from the picture (above) are working for state-owned media, including the Sudan TV. The print media in Sudan are completely censored and no independent and private news media are allowed to broadcast on radio or TV inside the country.On Tuesday, the acting head of Unamid, Abiodun Bashua, said the UN peacekeeping mission still intended to conduct another investigation in Tabit to put an end to recent “rumours”, but the mission was denied access to the village. According to El Azrag, the reports about the incident are “baseless and without justification”. He told the UN “not to waste [its] resources on investigating claims made by a radio well-known for its fabrications”.Photo: The national security and special forces are accompanying national Sudanese media to Tabit, North Darfur, to report on the alleged mass rape. (Source: Sudan Radio and TV)Related: Sudan rejects request Security Council to investigate alleged mass rape Tabit (20 November 2014)