Hundreds of women have rallied in Sudan against sexual violence following allegations that 13 women and girls were raped at a protest on Sunday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The UN said it had received \u201cdisturbing reports\u201d that security force members sexually abused women at the demonstration against the military.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The US and other Western powers criticised the use of sexual violence \u201cto drive women away\u201d from protests.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The security forces have not yet commented on the allegations.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Women have been at the forefront of the wave of pro-democracy protests that have taken place in Sudan since the military staged a coup in October.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cRape will not stop us\u201d and \u201cthe women of Sudan are stronger\u201d were among the defiant messages at Thursday\u2019s protests in the capital, Khartoum. and its twin city, Omdurman.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
In a joint statement, the US and European Union said they condemned the use of sexual violence \u201cas a weapon\u201d to silence the voices of women.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The statement \u2013 also signed by the UK, Norway, Switzerland and Canada \u2013 called for an independent investigation into the allegations of violence.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Two people were also reportedly killed during Sunday\u2019s protest, when hundreds of thousands marched in Khartoum to condemn the coup.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Pro-democracy activists accuse the military of stealing the revolution that led to long-serving ruler Omar al-Bashir being ousted in 2019.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Coup leader Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has defended October\u2019s military take over, alleging that the army acted to prevent a civil war because political groups had been inciting civilians against the security forces.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
He says he is still committed to the transition to civilian rule, with elections planned for July 2023.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Under last month\u2019s agreement reached with the reinstated civilian prime minister Abdalla Hamdok, he will lead a cabinet of technocrats until elections are held.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
But it is unclear how much power the new civilian government will have, as it will be subject to military oversight.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
There has been intense speculation in recent days about the future of Hamdok, with some reports suggesting that he plans to resign while others say that he has been persuaded by Gen Burhan to remain in office.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Source: Nam News Network<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hundreds of women have rallied in Sudan against sexual violence following allegations that 13 women and girls were raped at a protest on Sunday.The UN said it had received \u201cdisturbing reports\u201d that security force members sexually abused women at the de…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n