A Sudanese refugee was abducted while travelling to a hospital in eastern Chad, held captive for five days and sexually assaulted by multiple attackers before being returned to her refugee camp, according to local Sudanese media.
Fatima Fadl, spokesperson for the Touloum refugee camp, told Radio Dabanga on Monday that several people kidnapped the woman while she was travelling to Al-Qadima Hospital for medical examinations.
Her family launched an extensive search, using loudspeakers and media appeals to locate her after she disappeared.
Five days later, the attackers returned the woman to the refugee camp, blindfolded and with her hands and feet bound, Fadl said.
Preliminary medical examinations indicated that she had been sexually assaulted by multiple perpetrators and had suffered burn injuries to her back, according to the spokesperson.
The identities of the attackers remain unknown, and there was no immediate information about any arrests or criminal investigation.
Sexual violence threatens Sudanese refugees
Fadl warned that Sudanese women and girls in eastern Chad remain vulnerable to sexual violence, particularly when they leave refugee settlements to collect firewood.
She said survivors face a lack of legal assistance, while perpetrators frequently escape accountability.
The reported attack highlights the dangers facing Sudanese women who have fled the war in their homeland but continue to encounter violence and insecurity in neighbouring countries.
Earlier this month, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported that its teams had treated 91 survivors of sexual violence between January and July at Ouré-Cassoni, another refugee camp in eastern Chad.
The medical charity said women and girls were exposed to increased risks when forced to leave refugee settlements in search of water and firewood. It cautioned that it could not establish how many of the reported assaults occurred in Chad rather than before the survivors crossed the border from Sudan.
Refugee arrivals surge as humanitarian crisis deepens
The latest reported assault comes amid a sharp increase in the number of Sudanese refugees crossing into eastern Chad, where humanitarian agencies are struggling to meet growing needs.
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on September 25 that more than 55,000 Sudanese refugees had entered eastern Chad since the beginning of the year, bringing the total number of people who have crossed into the country since the war began in April 2023 to nearly one million.
More than 400 people a day were crossing through the Adré and Tiné border areas, around 20 times the daily rate recorded in previous months, according to the agency.
UNHCR has also warned of reports of rape and abductions affecting Sudanese refugees fleeing violence, underscoring the urgent need for protection and humanitarian assistance along displacement routes.
The agency said funding shortages were undermining its ability to provide food, shelter and essential services to refugees, leaving vulnerable families exposed to further hardship and insecurity.
