Exclusive: More abuse in Darfur?
Tue 4 Apr 2006
More4 News Exclusive: Women and children in Darfur claim they have been abused by the very guards who are meant to be protecting them.
27 March 2006
Since 2004, the fragile peace in Darfur has been monitored by troops from the African Union.
But More4 news has uncovered evidence that some of the soldiers overseeing the ceasefire, are now exploiting the women and children they were sent in to protect.
This weekend, the United Nations promised to speed up moves to send its own peacekeepers to the war torn region.
Our reporter Nima Elbagir travelled to Geraida in Southern Darfur, where girls as young as 11 said they had been threatened and coerced into sexual acts by soldiers.
We showed our report to the African Union command in Sudan. They told by More4 news that the claims were "horrible but not true". The United Nations were unable to comment.
Update
Since this report was broadcast the African Union have announced they will investigate these allegations.
In a statement they say that they "consider the allegations of these heinous crimes very grave and unacceptable" and that they "are determined to take all necessary measures to establish the facts of these allegations."
The Special Representative has formed "a committee to investigate, expeditiously and in a transparent manner, all the accusations contained in this broadcast."
Darfur investigation - April 5
After a More4 News exclusive the African Union investigates claims that peace-monitoring troops in Darfur sexually exploited women and girls.
Darfur Diary
Read a full account of Nima Elbagir's trip to Darfur, as she talks about her time with the rebel SLA troops.
