Serial rape crimes in West Darfur

Five women fall victim to armed shepherds in one weekA series of rape crimes were committed in West Darfur’s Mornei region this week, witnesses told Radio Dabanga on Thursday.Two refugee women were raped in Mornei region’s Kabiri Valley on Tuesday, one in Aro Valley on the same day and two others in Mornei refugee camp on Monday.In all cases, armed shepherds were accused of the rapes. Radio Dabanga cannot confirm whether all crimes were committed by the same group.In Tuesday’s incident, two refugee women were raped in their farms in Kabiri Valley by five armed shepherds. “The shepherd militiamen raped the women after they had brought their livestock on to the farms. An elderly person in the farm objected their behavior but the shepherds beat him, tied him with ropes and raped the women,” a sheikh from Mornei camp told Radio Dabanga. He added that they fled the scene of crime soon after.In a separate incident on the same day three shepherds with guns raped one woman from Mornei refugee camp in Aro Valley. The woman was harvesting food crops when she got raped, the sheikh said.He added that shepherds, who were wearing military uniforms, assaulted the refugee in the field earlier. The refugee was taken to the hospital for treatment in a serious condition after the gang rape.In Ronga Tash in Mornei locality, two women refugees were raped by five armed shepherds riding horses and camels on Monday. The shepherds had allegedly fired on their farms and raped the women on the farm collectively after beating them. The sheikh told Radio Dabanga that a police complaint has been filed in the case.