Khartoum «Al-Quds Al-Arabi»: The newspaper «Al-Quds Al-Arabi» obtained testimonies from activists about slavery markets in Sudan, especially in Darfur, where women who are kidnapped by the Rapid Support Forces are sold, while the director of the Violence against Women and Children Unit (a government institution), Salimi Ishaq, confirmed the existence of these markets.
Weeks ago, local activists and human rights organizations spoke of girls abducted from Khartoum and parts of Darfur being sold in slave markets and extorted for ransom payments in El Fasher, North Darfur, but local authorities issued a statement at the time denying that such crimes had taken place.
Salimi confirmed to (Al-Quds Al-Arabi) newspaper that the Rapid Support Forces and allied militias kidnapped women and established slave markets and places of detention in Darfur to sell them or release them for ransom.
“The accounts of the slave markets are confirmed by eyewitnesses, and there are girls who were released for ransom,” she said.
She added: “There are families who are reticent to address the issue, and there is an imminent danger that haunts those who talk about the issue, so we could not reach the real numbers and the names of specific areas.”
She pointed to “the presence of women kidnapped from Khartoum, Khartoum and Nyala in closed hotels and inside empty government buildings in Nyala, as well as in areas on the road linking the cities of El Fasher and Nyala in the Darfur region.”
What happened to women in Sudan is very similar to what happened to Yazidi women by the Islamic State, where they were “kidnapped and enslaved despite different methods and ideological motives,” she said. According to her, the latest statistics indicate the occurrence of (136) documented cases of sexual violence committed by the Rapid Support Forces, pointing out at the same time that these figures do not reflect reality, but represent only (2%) of it.
There are a lot of unreported cases due to war conditions and other social factors.
The violence had dropped in August to the point where no cases had been recorded, but in September it returned even more horrifically by breaking into homes.
The Darfur Bar Association had previously revealed the abduction of women from Arab militias, on the condition that they be released in exchange for ransom.
She said she had received information about allegations of slavery markets in El Fasher, but could not prove it.
Al-Quds Al-Arabi heard testimonies about the case from two local human rights activists in Darfur.
One of them said: “After the second month of the outbreak of the war and after targeting areas in North Darfur such as Kutum and Tawila, as well as the targeting of the city of Nyala, the (support) forces and the Janjaweed kidnapped a number of girls and took them to unknown directions, including my friend and colleague at the university and another girl, the first was sold for (700) thousand pounds.”
The second was worth one million Sudanese pounds, and the buyer left for the Ardamta area, near El Geneina, where they were met by an acquaintance who paid the amounts, took the two girls and released them, and they are now in an area in the locality of Serba in West Darfur state.
According to the human rights activist, who preferred not to be named, the detainees and markets where the abducted girls are located are located in West and North Darfur and places in the direction of Jebel Si and the Dawa area.
A second activist, from Kass locality in South Darfur state, who also preferred to be anonymous for security reasons, reported that slavery markets are located in al-Furqan.
Two activists revealed several cases to Al-Quds Al-Arabi… And a government official likens it to the tragedy of the Yazidi women of Iraq
The sales are between members of the Rapid Support Forces and the militia allied with them, he said, noting that markets also sell weapons.
According to him: “A girl was freed for 600,000 pounds by a classmate from Kababiya area in North Darfur state after she was kidnapped from Khartoum.”
He estimated the number of girls kidnapped around Kass up to more than (50) girls and the sale and ransom prices range to two million pounds, indicating the lack of civilian authority in Kas after the fall of the army garrison at the hands of the «Rapid Support».
Al-Quds Al-Arabi tried to contact the Rapid Support Forces to verify the accusations, but found no response.
In a previous statement, they denied any connection to the abduction and rape of women, considering them allegations as part of the “counter-campaigns” led by the remnants of the “former regime” against them.
The local authorities at the level of the governor of North Darfur, Nimr Mohamed Abdel Rahman, also did not respond to the questions of Al-Quds Al-Arabi, but he had previously issued a statement in this regard, saying: “What has been reported in some media outlets stating the existence of markets for women’s slavery in the localities of El Fasher, Mellit and Malha, is completely untrue.
The list of those missing and forcibly disappeared after the outbreak of war includes dozens of girls and women whose fate is still unknown.
In a related context, the “Missing” initiative (a voluntary initiative working to search for the missing of the revolution and war) had announced that the special forces in the Sudanese army managed to free a group of missing women and girls from the hands of the Rapid Support Forces in the suburb of Halfaya.
According to the lost and found, the support forces forced them to treat the wounded and cook food.
“Some of the women found after their abduction stated that they had been coerced by the RSF using violence and intimidation to perform various tasks, including cooking and washing soldiers’ clothes in very poor sanitary and security conditions,” the initiative said.
According to journalist Hadi Abdullah – from Darfur, «the phenomenon of the abduction of women and girls is widespread in the Darfur region, where some of the Rapid Support militants fleeing the battles, to transfer dozens of girls from Khartoum to Darfur, and many families reported the abduction of their girls, and there are also other unconfirmed reports that the Rapid Support established markets for slavery in Daein and North and West Darfur».
According to him, this comes at a time when justice and security institutions have been suspended due to the war, which has prevented the ability to file criminal reports against the Rapid Support Forces, which have not stopped committing more shocking violations against civilians.
He asserted that “the continuation of heinous practices that violate all values, customs and laws by the Rapid Support and its allied militias will constitute a wide social rift among Sudanese society,” stressing the need to “redouble local and international efforts to stop them and punish the perpetrators.”
“Civilians continue to suffer due to the authorities’ failure to provide security, and their inability to deliver justice and accountability for crimes and other violations.”
“The RSF and allied militias continue to expand the cycle of gender-based violence, sexual violence, forced displacement and identity-based killings.”
Recent UN meetings have seen numerous condemnations of the RSF for committing crimes of sexual violence against women during the war raging in Sudan since mid-April.
Salimi Ishaq, director of the Violence against Women and Children Unit, said: “Widespread condemnations, but no concrete action.” However, “Yes, sanctions were issued against (deputy head of the Support Forces and his brother) Abderrahim Dagalo, but there is no other act.”
“Discussions are ongoing with international missions on the needs and future of women in order to heal the wounds left by sexual violence,” she said.
She pointed out that “sexual violence in the Sudan war, systematic and the ugliest of its kind,” declaring at the same time that “there are real risks facing service providers to victims, including doctors or those suspected of dealing with organizations, volunteers or activists, as they are investigated and arrested by the Rapid Support Forces.”
“I am afraid to talk about some cases, because it causes a great danger to service providers, any news of rape or sexual violence that has exposed them to arrest and accountability by Khartoum and Nyala in South Darfur state.”
