SUDANESE women are among the thousands of Rohingya who have accused the US of rape after being trafficked to its southern neighbour.
The case of the woman who says she has been raped by embassy staff in Washington state and her claims of rape by US diplomats are the latest in a long list of allegations that have been levelled at Washington against the Rohingya people in the Middle East.
The woman, who has not been named, was raped on February 28 in a room at the US Embassy in Dhaka.
She said the US security agents dragged her out of the room and forced her to give them a false name, a number of which were fake.
She is now trying to get compensation for her injuries, which included bruising and burns.
The US has denied any wrongdoing and has not said it will prosecute the embassy staff, but its response to the case has been swift and vocal.
The White House has been critical of the way the US handled the case, accusing the government of having a “zero tolerance” approach to allegations of sexual assault.
“It’s absolutely appalling that someone would be raped by people who are sworn to protect our country and our diplomats,” said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders.
“This is unacceptable, this is not acceptable.”
The US embassy has also said that it is working with the Bangladesh government to investigate the rape allegations and is working to bring those responsible to justice.
“We are cooperating fully with Bangladesh’s government to find the person responsible and to prosecute them to the full extent of the law,” a US embassy statement said.
“The embassy is fully committed to upholding the highest standards of conduct and ethics in our work in the region and across the world.”
But the case is not the first time that the US has been accused of rape.
In 2015, a Nepalese woman alleged that she was gang-raped in a US diplomatic compound in Kathmandu, and the US government initially claimed the rape was committed by a Nepali security agent.US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said the rape of a US diplomat in Bangladesh “does not meet the standard” of the United Nations system.
“There is nothing more egregious, nothing more shocking, than what happened to the woman in Bangladesh,” she said.
“I think it’s very important to remember that the American people are deeply committed to protecting diplomats in any country they choose to visit.”