Sudan TSC demands investigation into rape allegations against female protestors

Sudan’s TSC (Transitional Sovereign Council) has asked the authorities to investigate rape allegations against female protestors in Khartoum on December 19.

According to a statement released by the Transitional Sovereign Council, the Council directed “the authorities concerned to investigate what is being circulated in the media regarding the rape incident” during a regular meeting held at the Republican Palace in Khartoum and chaired by the Council’s Chairman Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan.

The UN (United Nations) Human Rights Office called for a quick, independent, comprehensive investigation into allegations of sexual violence, including rape and gang rape, during protests in Sudan on December 19.

In Geneva, spokesperson of the UN Human Rights Office, Liz Throssell, said she received reports that mentioned that 13 women and girls were raped or gang-raped; and reported that women were sexually harassed while running around the presidential palace in Khartoum.

After announcing a state of emergency in Sudan, the nation suffered from a political crisis. The announcement done by General Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, announced a state of emergency on October 25 liquified the sovereign Council and the government.

On November 21, Al-Burhan and then-Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok signed a political declaration that included Hamdok’s reinstatement as Prime Minister, but the agreement has yet to calm the streets.

According to the United Nations Human Rights Office data, 13 rape and gang rape cases on women by security forces during protests were reported in Sudan on December 21, while one person was killed. However, they did not share any details of the victims.

According to Suleiman Ishaq, head of the Combating Violence Against Women unit at the Ministry of Social Development, “one woman came forward and filed a police complaint with the authorities while other refused to take any legal action.”