Sudan: 'Rape as weapon of war'
2004-07-19 09:55
London - The Sudanese government is directly responsible for crimes against humanity in its strife-torn western region of Darfur, including the widespread rape of women, rights group Amnesty International charged on Monday.
Refugees from Darfur had described a pattern of "systematic and unlawful attacks" against civilians by both a government-sponsored Arab militia and the Sudanese military forces, the London-based group said.
Much of this was directed at women, with rape and other forms of sexual violence endemic, said the 35-page report, titled "Sudan, rape as a weapon of war".
Relief groups operating in Darfur have warned of a looming famine in the region, describing it as currently the world's most severe humanitarian crisis, Amnesty noted in the report.
"Today's 'worst humanitarian crisis' has been directly caused by war crimes and crimes against humanity for which the Sudanese government is responsible," it said.
More than 10 000 people have been killed in Darfur since rebels rose up in February 2003, prompting a heavy-handed response from Khartoum.
Amnesty described the government attacks as constituting both war crimes and crimes against humanity.
"In these attacks, men are killed, women are raped and villagers are forcibly displaced from their homes which are burnt; their crops and cattle, their main means of subsistence, are burnt or looted," the report said.
It continued: "These human rights violations have been committed in a systematic manner by the (militia), often in coordination with Sudanese soldiers and the Sudanese Air Force, with total impunity, and have targeted mainly members of the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups and other agro-pastoralist groups living in Darfur."
There was "a large amount of information" pointing to the responsibility of the Sudanese government for the human rights violations in Darfur, Amnesty said.
Of particular concern was widespread rape, as well as other crimes targeted at women such as abduction, sexual slavery and torture, the report added.
Although it had not been able to visit refugee camps within Sudan, Amnesty workers at three camps in neighbouring Chad were able to collect the names of 250 women who have been raped during the conflict in Darfur, as well as information about an estimated 250 further rapes.
"This information was collected from testimonies of individuals who represent only a fragment of those displaced by the conflict," it said.
International efforts to broker a peace between the Sudanese government and two rebel groups in Darfur ran into trouble over the weekend after the government rejected rebel preconditions for talks.
Despite efforts by the African Union and United Nations, the two sides have only managed to sit down together once, an encounter which degenerated into a prolonged shouting match.
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