Rape being used as "a weapon of war" in Darfur - Amnesty International

Rape is being used as "a weapon of war" by government allied militias and the Sudanese army in western Sudan's Darfur region, according to Amnesty International (AI).

"The rapes are not mistakes by undisciplined militia members," Polyanna Truscott, AI's Darfur crisis coordinator told reporters in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. "The rape that is ongoing appears to be part of a systematic dehumanising of women and destruction of their communities. Rape is being committed to humiliate the women, to inflict fear in them, to control them or force them to leave their homes."

It was not immediately possible to get a comment from the Sudanese government, which denies condoning the activities of the militia in Darfur, on the statements by AI.

AI interviewed about 400 victims or witnesses of rape during its investigations, Erwin Van der Borght, the AI deputy programme director in Africa, told reporters. Other abuses targeting women and girls included sexual slavery, torture and abductions.

To access the report, entitled "Sudan, Darfur: Rape as a weapon of war", go to www.amnesty.org

The rapes were mainly committed by the Janjawid, AI said, while the army was either involved or a direct witness in almost all the cases recorded by AI. "The Janjawid have acted with full impunity and with the full knowledge or acquiescence of the government army."

Sexual violence was widespread, sometimes systematic, often done in public spaces, and was targeting women and children because they belonged to certain ethnic groups, the watchdog added. Many women were being abducted and kept for several days by Janjawid or armed forces, some even as far away as Khartoum.

The perpetrators knew well that rape was a taboo, leaving little doubt that "the Janjawid militias and accompanied government soldiers are trying to destroy the very social fabric of the communities they attack", Truscott said.

AI said that despite Khartoum's commitments to end impunity in Darfur, not a single member of the Janjawid or of the armed forces had been charged with rape or abduction. "Today's worst humanitarian crisis has been directly caused by war crimes and crimes against humanity for which the Sudanese government is responsible," said AI.

The violence, including rape, being inflicted on Darfur's civilians appeared to be a form of collective punishment of a population whose members had taken up arms against Khartoum, AI reported.