U.N. investigating mass rapes in Sudan

KHARTOUM, Sudan - The U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission says it is investigating reports of the mass rape of 200 women in Sudan's western region of Darfur.

UNAMID says in a statement Wednesday that it is "deeply concerned" about media reports of the alleged sexual assaults in Tabit, located 28 miles southwest of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.

It says the Sudanese military denied the mission access to the town to investigate the reports. However it said that another U.N. mission visited a nearby camp for the internally displaced and found none from Tabit.

UNAMID called upon the Sudanese government to grant it access. Darfur has been gripped by violence since 2003, when rebels took up arms against the government in Khartoum, accusing it of discrimination and neglect.