Euronews exclusive: Sudan president challenges reports of mass rape by soldiers
- 9 years ago
The rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) says that more than 200 women and girls were raped by members of the Sudanese army in a 36-hour assault on the north Darfur town of Tabit beginning on October 30, 2014.
Euronews spoke with the Sudanese president Omar al Bashir about the report.
“This basically is not a report, but it’s a radio news item from Radio Dabanga which is hostile to us,” said al Bashir.
“It’s opposition-run, and its Israeli-funded,” he continued. “The United Nations responded to the news by sending a group of investigators to Thabit village . This UN group investigated the charges and confirmed that the information in the report was incorrect. Then they returned and wrote a report confirming that the information in the report was incorrect and no rape had taken place.”
But the US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power has sharply criticised Sudan for what she described as “shamefully denying the United Nations the ability to properly investigate this incident.”
Euronews spoke with the Sudanese president Omar al Bashir about the report.
“This basically is not a report, but it’s a radio news item from Radio Dabanga which is hostile to us,” said al Bashir.
“It’s opposition-run, and its Israeli-funded,” he continued. “The United Nations responded to the news by sending a group of investigators to Thabit village . This UN group investigated the charges and confirmed that the information in the report was incorrect. Then they returned and wrote a report confirming that the information in the report was incorrect and no rape had taken place.”
But the US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power has sharply criticised Sudan for what she described as “shamefully denying the United Nations the ability to properly investigate this incident.”