Two Sudanese refugee girls were brutally raped outside the Brau camp in the Central African Republic, a local official confirmed Monday. The girls, Howayda and Hadeel, were attacked by unknown assailants while gathering firewood on Saturday, raising fresh alarm among camp residents.
Their families immediately filed a criminal complaint after the victims were taken to hospital, where doctors confirmed signs of severe sexual assault. Medical reports detailed damage to the girls’ reproductive organs, further fuelling outrage and fear across the already vulnerable refugee community.
The attack followed weeks of mounting concerns, after refugees previously demanded protection in response to three violent incidents inside the camp. Local authorities have yet to identify or arrest the perpetrators, drawing criticism over persistent security failures and widening discontent among the displaced.
“The current security team must be replaced,” camp leader Ahmed Adam Al-Sheikh said, urging families to safeguard women and children.
He described conditions in Brau as unsafe, warning that unchecked violence continues to erode the fragile sense of shelter for refugees. The Central African Republic hosts more than 38,000 Sudanese refugees, according to UNHCR, among 4.1 million displaced since Sudan’s war began.
For many in Brau, the firewood trip that ended in horror has become a bitter symbol of their daily struggle for survival.
