More rape and pillage in Darfur
2004-08-11 17:15
Khartoum - Charges of killing, rape and looting in Sudan's Darfur region, with the accused being given jobs in the very forces meant to restore security, increased on Wednesday, bringing calls from a rebel leader for US and British troops to intervene immediately.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch said Khartoum had failed to curb brutal repression by the pro-government Janjaweed militia of a black African rebellion started in February 2003 and was incorporating them in the regular forces.
"The Sudanese government needs to bring war criminals to justice, not recruit them into positions of responsibility," it said, just days after Khartoum agreed to action to disarm the rebels and Janjaweed.
Khartoum claims it has started deploying 6 000 policemen in Darfur - a region the size of France - and was ready to double that number to help restore order.
It also said that more than 300 Janjaweed - Arab nomadic militias which have been used as a proxy by government forces - had been arrested in recent weeks and would be brought to justice.
But Human Rights Watch charged that "rape, assaults and looting continue daily even as more people are being driven from their homes".
The United Nations also said that fresh violence had erupted in Sudan on Tuesday, with attacks by government helicopter gunships and the Janjaweed.
The UN refugee agency also warned that people were being pressed to return to dangerous areas.
"In west Darfur, the UN high commissioner for refugees is concerned that the local authorities and government of Sudan are continuing to put pressure on displaced people to return to villages," UNHCR spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis said.