News Update- Week of March 10th
Keep Your Eyes on Darfur
While the world’s attention turned to the government of Sudan’s violent response to the nationwide protests, massacres, brutal rapes and violent attacks on innocent people of Darfur have been going unnoticed. Those who have been displaced 15 years ago in Darfur are still facing systematic attacks and rape of civilians every day.
- On March 14: Three students from Sheikh Yousef Mustafa Koran Institute were victims of armed robbery in South Darfur. After exchanging blows with one robber, Hanafi Ismail was fired at and killed instantly, while the other 2 students were seriously wounded. One of the robbers was a corporal in the Sudan Armed Forces.
- Last week, three young women and girls were repeatedly raped at gunpoint by militiamen in North Darfur while collecting firewood. One girl (14) was also “beaten, whipped, and verbally humiliated”. The Incident was reported to Kutum-area police, but perpetrators have not been pursued nor arrested.
- On March 13: Six displaced persons were massacred in the Ardamata camp in West Darfur while collecting straw. The Darfur Media and Journalists Associations held the government responsible and demanded an investigation to bring those responsible to justice.
- Credible sources from the ground estimate that more than 150 women are currently imprisoned for participating in protests in Sudan. While a portion of these young women were released from Omdurman Women’s Prison in Sudanlast Tuesday, there is a lack of information as to how many remain detained.
- Post declaring a State of Emergency on 22 February, President Bashir has “appointed a new government, installed military and security officers in all state governments…established emergency courts and deployed large numbers of security forces on the streets”. Many of these emergency courts are harshly distributing punishment to the hundreds of protestors being tried.
- On March 9: Nine women were arrested for participating in peaceful anti-government protests and sentenced to one month in prison and 20 lashes, though the latter punishment was appealed and reversed.
The same al-Bashir regime that orchestrated the genocide in Darfur is currently ordering brutality against peaceful protesters in Sudan. Your voices are urgently needed to expose al-Bashir’s crimes in Darfur and across Sudan. It takes only one action to contribute to ending genocide in Darfur and the unprecedented carnage across Sudan. If you can share this with 5-10 people in your network and ask them to do the same, you will make a difference.
With our collective effort we can make a difference. We can end it.
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Niemat Ahmadi
