عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

US Condemns Conflict-related Sexual Violence in Sudan

The US State Department Building is pictured in Washington, US, January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
The US State Department Building is pictured in Washington, US, January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
TT
TT

US Condemns Conflict-related Sexual Violence in Sudan

The US State Department Building is pictured in Washington, US, January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
The US State Department Building is pictured in Washington, US, January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

The United States condemned pervasive conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan, which the State Department said that credible sources including victims have attributed to Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allied militias.

"The numerous reports of rape, gang rape and other forms of gender-based violence against women and girls in West Darfur and other areas are deeply disturbing. These acts of brutality contribute to an emerging pattern of targeted ethnic violence," the department said in a statement, Reuters reported.

"In particular, we are gravely concerned about the situation in and around Nyala, South Darfur where tens of thousands of civilians are trapped as fighting escalates between the RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF)," it added.

The United States called on the RSF and SAF to immediately halt the fighting and allow safe passage for all civilians out of the city, the department said.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

RSF Leader: Armed Groups Responsible for Escalation in Sudan's El Fasher

Commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Mohammed Hamdan Daglo in southern Darfur. (AFP file photo)
Commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Mohammed Hamdan Daglo in southern Darfur. (AFP file photo)
TT
TT

RSF Leader: Armed Groups Responsible for Escalation in Sudan's El Fasher

Commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Mohammed Hamdan Daglo in southern Darfur. (AFP file photo)
Commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Mohammed Hamdan Daglo in southern Darfur. (AFP file photo)

Commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, also known as Hemedti, slammed on Sunday the “popular resistance,” saying they were a cover for the brigades of the ousted regime and whose members were from the army and other security forces.

In a voice recording on Eid al-Adha, he congratulated the Sudanese people on the occasion, saying their country was “going through extraordinary circumstances because of the war that was sparked by the Islamist movement with the help of the army command.”

This was Daglo’s first address to the public in two months.

“We are pained by the conditions our citizens are going through and we are working on easing their suffering to achieve peace and stability and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid,” he went on to say.

On the situation in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, Daglo blamed the escalation there on armed factions “that have abandoned neutrality and chosen to side with their slaughterer.”

“They attacked our forces, so we had no choice but to defend ourselves,” he stressed.

He said the development in Wad al-Noura in al-Jazirah state was a military battle between the RSF, army, Islamist movement brigades and the security agency. He declared that the RSF succeeded in deciding the battle in its favor.

Clashes in the rural town have left over 100 people dead and injured.

Daglo stressed the importance of opening humanitarian corridors to deliver aid to the people. “We reject the practices committed by the gang in Port Sudan,” he added, in reference to the army.

He blamed the military for impeding the delivery of aid throughout Sudan, accusing it of war crimes.