SIXTEEN YEAR OLD RAPE VICTIM DESCRIBES EXPERIENCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L CONAKRY 000651 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/16/2019 TAGS: PHUM ASEC PREL PGOV SOCI GV SUBJECT: SIXTEEN YEAR OLD RAPE VICTIM DESCRIBES EXPERIENCE Classified By: ECONOFF BRIANA WARNER FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) On October 9, EconOff met with two young sisters who were attacked on September 28 at the stadium. One girl, barely sixteen years old, was raped by multiple soldiers and severely beaten and stabbed. The other, who was about eighteen years old, narrowly escaped rape, but was beaten and cut by Red Berets. They brought with them their cousin, a member of Les Forces Vives, to translate for them, as they could only speak and understand Peuhlar. ¶2. (C) The sixteen year old girl said that she went to the stadium with her older sister because they thought it would be interesting. She explained that she is too young to be part of any political party, but she felt that it was important to show her support for the Peuhl opposition parties. She said that when the military started shooting at the protestors, her first reaction was to try to escape with her sister. ¶3. (C) On the way out of the stadium, the sisters were quickly separated. The younger sister was then stopped on the basketball court outside the stadium by several Red Berets. They repeatedly hit her with the bottom of their guns and then demanded that she take off her clothes. When she refused, one soldier grabbed her arms while the other tore off her clothes with the sharp end of a knife, cutting her down the entire front of her body. The soldier than proceeded to rape her. Before leaving, the soldiers cut the bottom of her feet several times with their knives, to keep her from running away. ¶4. (C) When she was able to move, she began to crawl toward the gutter in the street in order to hide, but was quickly caught by a different group of soldiers who were carrying another naked woman. The group then proceeded to rape both of the women before they could escape. One soldier cut off the breasts of the unidentified woman and beat her to death. When he started to cut the sixteen year old, the group lost interest and they moved on to something else. The girl pulled herself to the gutter, where she hid for the next few hours. Later that evening, an unknown Sousou family found her and hid her in their house until they could safely bring her to a hospital. Almost 11 days later, the young woman is still unable to walk upright and has stitches on her breast and stomach. She also cannot stand up straight from internal pain and has slices all over her feet. ¶5. (C) Her sister said that she was stopped immediately outside of the stadium by a masked man in military fatigues. She explained that the man screamed at her in a language she could not understand, and that he was wearing black material over his head with only the eyes cut out. He apparently began beating her in the head and on her upper thigh with the butt of his gun. He then stabbed her in the side with a knife and began ripping off her clothes. A Peuhl Red Beret apparently intervened and forced the soldier away from the young woman, letting her go. ¶6. (C) The girl ran naked into the crowd. She said that a Malinke woman, who lived nearby, found her in the street and gave her clothes and shelter until dark, when she returned home. She still has visible scars from the encounter, although she did not feel the need to seek medical treatment. She also described seeing Forestiere soldiers take two young boys, under the age of ten, and beat them to death with their batons. ¶7. (C) The women's interpreter said that many more women were raped and people killed than the press is willing to admit. She said many people are languishing downtown in their houses, fearful that they will be noticed by the military if they go to the hospital. She also said that many women who were attacked at the stadium have stopped talking and eating altogether, and their families are ill-equipped to address their financial and emotional needs. "So many people were raped and so many people disappeared," she said. "I think that we will soon discover that more than 400 people died at the stadium alone, and many more will die as a result of their injuries." BROKENSHIRE