No evidence of any case of rape in North Darfur’s Tabit village: UNAMID

Khartoum-SudaneseOnline-The African Union – United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) stressed on Tuesday that it has found no evidence of any case of rape in Tabit village, located (49) km southwest of El-Fasher, capital of North Darfur.
In a joint press conference they held with the governor of North Darfur state in El Fasher, UNAMID officials tasked to investigate the incident said that they had visited the village and found no evidence of rape or involvement of Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) in any violations.
The chairman of the verification team in El-Fasher told reporters they sent a report to the UN headquarters in New York and Geneva dismissing the incident, adding the UN Security Council will discuss the issue on Monday evening.
SAF spokesperson, al-Sawarmi Khaled, stressed in a press conference on Sunday that “reports about the mass rape by SAF soldiers are baseless,” pointing out that the armed forces are affected by the loss of one of its military in the village.
He confirmed that a corporal is missing and that the search operation conducted in the village did not allow finding him.
In a media briefing at the UN headquarters in New York, the Australian ambassador to the United Nations, Gary Quinlan, who chairs the Security Council for this month, confirmed that they were briefed by Edmond Mulet, assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations and Ms. Zainab Hawa Bangura, UN special representative of the secretary-general on sexual violence.