Sudanese refugee women at Adre camp in neighbouring Chad are facing harsh living conditions, according to a political activist.
Rasheeda Adam Ibrahim, a political activist and a member of the Mayarim Organization for Women Development, told Radio Tamazuj Thursday that the women who fled El Geneina in West Darfur to Adre amid the conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were subjected to violence and sexual abuse, adding that they did not receive any medical, legal or psychological support when they arrived in the camp.
She said that during the siege on El Geneina, the paramilitary forces used rap as a weapon of war and raped women who were trying to fly the fighting.
“Women in the Adre camp are living in harsh conditions,” she said. “In the recent attack on El Geneina, the paramilitary forces used rape as a weapon of war and many women fell victims into their hands.”
“Unfortunately, those women that survived the sexual abuse and rape did not get any medical, legal or psychological support,” she lamented.
Ibrahim pointed out that she carried out a few initiatives to provide psychological support to the rape victims in Adre camp, but her efforts fell short due to lack of support.
She stressed that the living conditions in the camp are harsh, especially for the refugees who arrived earlier when the fighting broke out in El Geneina, adding that they did not receive any food supplies for months after their arrival.
“The situation is dire as many refugees who arrived in the camp and were registered received food supplies for only one month. Four months have passed and many have not received anything,” she said.
She called on aid agencies to urgently intervene and provide humanitarian assistance to the refugees. The activist mentioned that some of the refugees are afraid for their safety as killings and threats incidents have increased.