Soldier in Darfur: They told me to kill, to rape children...

I wanted to believe the man in front of me wasn't a rapist. I knew he was a former Sudanese soldier, I knew he wanted to talk about rape in Darfur. A humanitarian group working on Darfur issues had introduced him to us. They told us his testimony was important to hear.

Last year in Darfur aid workers told me children as young as five were being raped in the huge displacement camps that are home to several million Darfuris. In some camps, they told me, rape had become so common that as many as 20 babies a month born from rape were being abandoned.

As I sat inches from Adam --not his real name -- I feared the revulsion I knew I would feel at my own questions as I asked about rape and his involvement. I have interviewed rape survivors in Darfur. I have two daughters. I am a human being with a conscience. It would be hard to listen to his replies. More...

See also:

1. Sudan "has 6000 child soldiers..."
2. Darfur and the Janjaweed: when will the madness end?
3. The Coltan War...
4. Somalia: 13-year-old girl raped by three men; they go free, but the victim is stoned to death...