AFRICA/SUDAN – Women in refugee camps beaten and tortured

Gireida (Agenzia Fides) – Atrocities and violence continue in camps for refugees. Some 19 women in a camp for displaced persons in Gireida, are reported to have been beaten and tortured by armed men. The local Radio Dabanga was informed by a woman at Abdos camp. The women were collecting wood and straw in the area of Um Kobe when they were attacked by a band of about 30 Janjaweed on horseback or on camels (Janjaweed are pro-government militia fighting a civil war in the region). “The armed men attempted to take four of the women away. When the women resisted, the whole group was tied up, beaten and tortured for 13 hours. Seven of the women, seriously injured, had to be taken to a hospital at Murnei” the woman said. (AP) (31/5/2014 Agenzia Fides)