Sisters Fight Off Attempted Rapist Outside Ardamata IDP Camp

October 12, 2006

Two girls who were grazing cattle outside their IDP camp were attacked by a Janjaweed militia member who attempted to rape them last Wednesday, October 4, 2006 at about 11 am Darfur local time, according to three different Damanga sources who spoke with witnesses of the incident. Kondong Adeleem, age 12, and her sister Nanj Adeleem, age 15 [both Kondong and Nanj are nicknames the girls are known by] , were assaulted less than three kilometers from an IDP camp in Ardamada, a town located east of Al Geneina.

The Janjaweed militia member first attempted to rape the 12-year old, but she and her sister fought back. The older sister was stabbed in the confrontation and fell to the ground.

The attacker then attempted to rape the older girl, but the 12-year old struck him unconscious with an axe. The younger girl then ran back to the IDP camp to seek help for her sister.

Residents of the IDP camp returned to the scene of the attack and took both the injured girl and the Janjaweed militia member to the hospital for treatment. The 12-year old was not injured, but the 15-year old remains hospitalized.

The girls reported the incident to police, though it is unclear whether any action was taken.

The town of Ardamata houses many IDPs and is also the site of a base camp for Janjaweed and Sudanese army troops. Four witnesses described this attack to three different Damanga sources. The witnesses and the two girls who were attacked, are from the same village, Chubokey, east of Ardamata town. Chubokey was destroyed in a Janjaweed attack last year, and the survivors took refuge at different camps in the area, such as the camps by the villages of Ardamata, Umnaima, Kerdang and Hajer Leban .

This is not the first attack suffered by the Adeleem family. Damanga reported last year that the girls' cousin, Abdalla Ishag Adeleem, a police officer, was killed by the Janjaweed. Mr. Adeleem, from Massaleit tribe, was in a police convoy that was ambushed by the Janjaweed and government security agents. Mr. Adeleem and several other police officers were killed.