Rape and several armed attacks reported in Darfur

A 20-year-old woman was gang-raped near Golo in Jebel Marra, Central Darfur, on Friday. Two armed robberies were reported to Radio Dabanga in the Darfur region over the weekend.

Relatives of the rape victim told Radio Dabanga that she went out with two women to collect firewood in the area of Taronga on Friday morning. Six armed men wearing military uniforms intercepted the three women, and two of them managed to escape. Two of the attackers then raped the other woman. 

Two men were injured in an armed robbery in Jebel Amer, North Darfur, on Sunday. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a neighbour reported that a group of gunmen stormed the house of Mahjoub Ali (22) at about two o’clock on Sunday morning.  

They opened fire at him and his relative Abdallah Mohamed (32), then “stole a huge amount of money”. Ali and Mohamed sustained bullet wounds and were transferred to the Kabkabiya Hospital. A report was filed with the police in Kabkabiya.  

On Saturday, two people were injured in Mukjar in Central Darfur when a passenger vehicle was shot at. Driver Mohamed Ali Haroun and passenger Fatima Mohamed Ahmed sustained bullet wounds, and the attackers robbed the passengers of their belongings and fled. 

In another incident, four gunmen wearing military uniforms and riding on motorcycles shot at a vehicle carrying 22 passengers on the Garsila-Mukjar road in Murlei. No one was injured. 

Recommendations of a workshop on transitional justice in the North Darfur capital El Fasher on Wednesday included documenting the abuses related to the war in Darfur, as well as gender-based violence (GBV) in the region. The workshop also recommended handing over the indicted officials from the former regime, including Al Bashir, to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Radio Dabanga regularly reports on GBV in Darfur. Most recently, a displaced farmer was raped and killed on her way home in Central Darfur on January 20. 

In November, activities as part of the annual international 16 Days of Activism against GBV paid extra attention to the position of displaced women.