Sudan 'starving' civilians
2004-05-06 20:15
Nairobi - The Sudanese government is deliberately starving civilians in at least one town in the troubled western Darfur region, according to a UN report obtained on Thursday, which also pointed to a campaign of ethnic cleansing there.
"Numerous testimonies... substantiated by the actual observations on the ground, particularly the longstanding prevention of access to food, alludes to a strategy of systematic and deliberate starvation being enforced by the GoS (government of Sudan) and its security forces on the ground," said the report compiled after several UN agencies visited the town of Kailek in South Darfur on April 25.
The report made several references to the total destruction by government forces and allied Janjawid militia of several villages populated by the Fur ethnic group and stressed that nearby "Arab" settlements had been left untouched.
Khartoum has consistently denied reports of ethnic cleansing in Darfur, where rebels drawn mainly from the Fur, Zagawa and Massalit groups rose up in February 2003.
A shaky ceasefire is currently in force.
The report described sanitary, shelter, medical and nutritional conditions in Tailek, where it said displaced people were kept as virtual prisoners, as "appalling", "deplorable" and "inhumane."
- AFP