North Darfur displaced plan mass protest to condemn rapes, violations

The Women, Youth, and Students Association of Zamzam camp south of El Fasher in North Darfur announced launching a mass demonstration on Thursday, condemning the rape of five displaced women by militiamen, and in response to the march of victims of wars and violations called for by the Sudanese Professionals Association and signatories to the Declaration of Freedom and Change.

The representative of the Association told Radio Dabanga that the march would include all members of the Association, child protection networks and women's advocates as well as displaced people.

She said there would be another demonstration to be led by imams and clerics on Friday.

The slogans will be “Freedom, peace, justice” and “The revolution is the choice of the people”, carrying banners written on them, “Justice and punishment for murderers and violators of land rights”, “We protest against the people who robbed our land”, “you arrogant racist”, and “The whole country is Darfur”.

On February 4, pro-government militiamen raped five displaced women, three of them minors at Um Hashaba area, 12 kilometres west of Zamzam camp.

In a statement following the Radio Dabanga report on the rape attack last week, the Darfur Women’s Group called on human rights and humanitarian organisations and the Voluntary Repatriation Commission to conduct an independent investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice.

It described what happened as “no less terrible than the mass rape of more than 200 women and girls in Tabit in Tawila in 2014, and that it is a shame that should not be kept silent”.