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| Gang rape incidents in Sudan: 'These three took turns raping me, then threw me on the side of the road' |
When four paramilitary soldiers were gang-raping Kulsoom (pseudonym) in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region, they were simultaneously abusing them based on ethnicity.
Kulsoom's voice was shaking while talking on the phone. He said, 'He was very cruel. They took turns raping me under the tree where I had gone to collect firewood.
Kulsoom is in his 40s and belongs to the Masalat community, a black African community in West Darfur. His rapists were Arabs from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
It is a paramilitary group accused of committing numerous atrocities during the ongoing conflict in Darfur.
Kulsoom lives in Al-Jininya, which has historically been a symbol of black African power in Darfur. It is also the traditional capital of the Masalat Sultanate. Now Kulsoom has escaped with her sick husband and children.
Kulsoom says her rapists told her to leave the city because it was owned by Arabs.
Local black Africans fear that the RSF, along with its allied militant group the Janjaweed, wants to establish an Arab majority in their area.
Sudan was plunged into civil war in April when two of the country's most powerful generals, Army Chief General Abdul Fateh al-Barhan and RSF Commander General Muhammad Hamdan, clashed.
Due to the obstinacy of these two officers, the conflict once again arose in Darfur, where in 2003 the civil war for the first time resulted in about three hundred thousand deaths.
160,000 people have been displaced by the recent conflict, the majority of whom belong to the Masalt community, who are moving to Chad.
It is not yet clear how many people have died in the area. At least 5,000 casualties have been estimated in Algeria.
RSF fighters have also been accused of committing atrocities in Sudan's most populous state, Khartoum.
The RSF controls most of the state and two million people have been displaced since fighting began in mid-April.
The wave of violence in Khartoum has not taken an ethnic turn, where people of all ethnicities, including Arabs, have been affected by the civil war.
24-year-old Ibtisam (pseudonym) told the BBC that she was on her way to her aunt's house when three RSF soldiers stopped her.
They pointed their guns at me and asked me where I was going. When I told them that I was going to my aunt's house, they accused me of belonging to the secret service of the army.
RSF soldiers forced them into a vehicle and took them to a nearby house.
There I saw another person who was wearing only underwear. I tried to run but a soldier pushed me so hard that I fell on the ground. They threatened me that if I tried to move or run again, they would kill me.
All three took turns raping me, more than once. Then they put me in the back of the car and threw me on the side of the road.
Taking a break, she recounted how she was plagued with feelings of humiliation and anger after the incident.
I wanted to commit suicide but I managed myself. I went back home and I didn't tell anyone what happened.
The UN human rights office in Sudan said in July that it had received 21 reports of sexual violence against 57 women and girls.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said that RSF has been named in all these incidents.
The United Nations and local human rights groups believe that this number is much lower than the actual number of crimes.
Ahlam Nasir works on human rights in Sudan. He says he has "no doubt that rap is being used as a weapon to terrorize people."
She says that this has happened in the past in Darfur and is happening now in Khartoum, especially by the RSF.
Ahlam Nasir has also escaped from Sudan now. He says that he has heard many such stories from women.
"In a few cases, mothers were raped in front of their children."
The RSF denies allegations that its personnel are involved in such incidents.
In a message to the BBC, RSF spokesman Mohammad Al-Mukhtar said there was a deliberate campaign to defame its soldiers after their victories.
When I told them that I have spoken to women who have identified themselves as RSF personnel, RSF spokesperson Mohammad Al-Mukhtar said that some people pose as RSF personnel and do such things.
However, victims of rape and sexual violence in this conflict are living without any help. Most of the hospitals are not functional and the hospitals that are still functional are not easily accessible.
Kulsoom and Ibtisam told me that their pain will always follow them.
"I will never forget it," says Kulsoom. This mark of shame will always be with me, like my shadow.