Over 100 rape cases have been record at police stations in Wau town of Western Bahr el Ghazal state from October until early November, a senior police officer said.

Police commissioner Abraham Manuat said in a joint briefing with the state governor Rizig Zachariah Hassan that 103 rape cases were recorded since October.

Manuat expressed concern about what he termed a dramatic increase in the numbers of rapes by criminal groups.

He and other officials have been vocal in blaming members of gangs known locally as ‘niggers’ – a term used in South Sudan not with racial connotations as in the West but rather cultural associations.

Often the term is anecdotally associated with criminal activities.

The top police officer in the state accused the criminal groups of involvement in such crimes, while reiterating the authorities’ readiness to launch a campaign in order to apprehend the criminals.

Last week a 29-year-old woman died after being gang-raped allegedly by seven men and a 14-year old girl was also found dead after also being gang-raped in a separate incident in Wau.

File photo