Um Dafuq, October 21 (Darfur24)
A local official in the border town of Umm Dafuq, South Darfur, revealed on Monday that several Sudanese women were raped and tortured after returning to their farms near the border with the Central African Republic (CAR).
Hundreds of Sudanese families living in border villages inside the CAR fled to Um Dafuq following violent clashes between members of the Sudanese Ta’aisha tribe and the Kara and Sara communities in the Central African Republic early this month.
“Three Sudanese women were raped and others beaten by young men from one of the border communities after they returned to their farms,” the area official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Darfur24.
He explained that the women had gone back on Monday to check on their farms after a truce was announced last week between the rival groups in preparation for a reconciliation conference. However, they were attacked by young men believed to be from the Sara group.
The victims were then transferred to Um Dafuq Hospital in Sudan for medical treatment.
Medical sources at the hospital confirmed receiving several women who had been sexually assaulted in the border area.
Last week, mediators from Um Dukhun locality in Central Darfur announced plans to hold a reconciliation conference between border tribes from Sudan and the Central African Republic in Um Dafuq. Still, the meeting was postponed to next week at the request of the governor of Bria County.