United Nations: The Militia Kidnapped 160 Women and Girls
Sudan Events – Agencies
The United Nations has said that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its affiliated militias had kidnapped more than 160 women and girls and held them in slavery-like conditions during the previous year.
On Tuesday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres presented his 15th annual report on conflict-related violence to the UN Security Council, which covers the period from January to December 2023.
The report said, according to “Sudan Tribune,” that “the United Nations received reliable information about the kidnapping of more than 160 detained girls and women, including reports of the rape of women and girls and their detention in slavery-like conditions.”
The United Nations noted that “there are reports that women and girls who were kidnapped in Khartoum State were transported to other areas, especially Darfur, while they were chained in the back of trucks. The RSF or its affiliated militias were involved in almost all cases.”
It did not rule out that some women and girls were forced into prostitution or forced marriage, while in other cases families paid a large ransom in exchange for the return of their members to them.
The United Nations said that it documented cases of conflict-related sexual violence, including cases of rape, gang rape, kidnapping and trafficking, committed against 98 women, 18 girls, one man and one boy in 2023.
It reported that the cases occurred in the states of Khartoum and South and North Darfur, most of which involved men wearing the uniform of the RSF, followed by members of its Arab militias, in addition to men wearing unknown uniforms, unidentified armed men, and the army.
It emphasized that a small portion of victims of sexual violence submitting formal complaints indicates a lack of confidence in the justice system driven by impunity and the absence of the state in areas affected by the conflict.
The United Nations revealed that humanitarian service providers who support victims, including doctors, have received threats from parties to the conflict for reporting sexual violence.
