KHARTOUM
The Sudanese government has dismissed reports about mass rape in the country's restive Darfur region, saying the allegations were untrue.
Special prosecutor for crimes in Darfur Yasir Ahmed Mohamed told reporters late Saturday that a prosecution team had probed allegations into mass rape in Tabit, 49 km southwest of North Darfur state capital El-Fasher, and made sure the claims are devoid of truth.
"The team made sure that no rape had taken place in the town, and no rape cases were reported," he added.
Mohamed's assertion came three days after the UN-African Union peacekeeping mission said it was investigating reports of the mass rape of 200 women in Tabit by Sudanese military troops.
The mission said that the Sudanese army denied its access to the town to investigate the reports.
Darfur has been the scene of a ferocious war between the Sudanese government and three rebel movements since 2003. The war has left 300,000 people dead and displaced around 2.5 million others so far, according to UN figures.
The Darfur conflict prompted in 2009 an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on a number of charges including genocide committed by government forces and allied militias.
The African Union/United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) has been working in Darfur since early 2008.
It is by far the second largest peacekeeping mission in the world, containing 20,000 troops, policemen and personnel from different countries. The mission had a total budget of $1.4 billion in 2013.
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