Rapes detailed in UN report on Darfur

August 22, 2007|Eliane Engeler, Associated Press

GENEVA -- A UN report released yesterday describes gruesome new details about the rapes of dozens of Darfur women last year, saying they were sexually assaulted in front of each other, beaten with sticks, and forced to cook and serve food to their attackers.

Some of the victims became pregnant as a result of rapes, allegedly carried out by the Sudanese soldiers and allied militiamen, the report by the UN's top human rights office said. It accused the Sudanese government of failing to investigate the rapes. "The abuses may also constitute war crimes," said the report by the office of Louise Arbour, UN high commissioner for human rights.

The report alleged Sudanese forces and militiamen subjected about 50 women to multiple rapes and other violence in an attack on the eastern Darfur village of Deribat in late December. They also abducted many children, it said.

Darfur has been the scene of a four-year conflict between government-backed militias known as the janjaweed and rebel forces. More than 200,000 people have died and at least 2.5 million have been driven from their homes, according to UN estimates.

A February report by the International Criminal Court alleged there has been "mass rape of civilians who were known not to be participants in any armed conflict" in Darfur.

Deribat was one of nine villages attacked in the eastern Jebel Marra region of Darfur at the time, the report said.