03/&01/2020 – “I returned to Geneina, Zalinge, Gosile and Doram villages in March 2018. I had been told the situation had changed, but nothing has changed. Women continue to be raped. What are we going to do if we go back to Darfur? Going back is impossible for now. I don’t even dream of going back.”
These words sum up the feelings of thousands of victims of the Darfur war that begun in 2003 and continues even with the ouster of former leader, Omar al-Bashir in April this year. These atrocities are laid at the feet of the Janjaweed militia, now transformed into Rapid Support Forces (RSF),
Led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as “Hemeti,” a former influential Janjaweed leader, and currently a member of the Sovereign Council—the transitional government established in August this year—the RSF has committed serious crimes, including sexual violence.
In a new report Will There Be Justice for Darfur, the International Federation for Human Rights, the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies, and the Sudan Human Rights Monitor profiles persisting impunity in Darfur in the face of political change.
The Darfur conflict begun when Sudan Armed Forces supported by Janjaweed militias, started a serious crackdown against rebel groups that were opposed to the government, causing more than 300,000 deaths and three million forced displacements.
The Janjaweed militia under RSF continued to cause havoc as late as June 3, this year, when members attacked civilians participating in a peaceful sit-in protest outside the Ministry of Defence headquarters in Khartoum.
Sahel-Elite (Bamako-Mali) 