|
UN silence on Darfur 'shameful'
28/02/2008 13:05 - (SA)
Washington - Human Rights Watch on Wednesday called the United Nations Security Council's silence on recent attacks in Sudan's Darfur region "shameful", and urged a probe of the killings and sanctions for its culprits.
One day after the sixth anniversary of the start of the deadly conflict pitting the Sudanese army and its Janjaweed militia against rebels in western Darfur, HRW said the UN council "should strongly denounce" Sudan's recent bombardment of civilian villages.
HRW said attacks since February 08 in western Darfur "have killed hundreds of civilians," sent tens of thousands fleeing their homes and were "preventing life-saving humanitarian assistance from reaching some of the worst-affected areas".
In a statement titled "UN: Shameful Silence on Civilian Killings in Darfur", HRW said "the Council's inaction has given Sudan a green light to continue attacking civilian targets, flouting international law and Security Council resolutions" and obstructing the deployment of a UN-mandated peacekeeping force.
'It's time to prove them wrong'
HRW's Africa director Georgette Gagnon said: "The Security Council shouldn't stand by as though this is 'business as usual.'"
"These horrific attacks on civilians show Khartoum's confidence that there will be no real consequences for its actions. It's time for the Security Council to prove them wrong," he added.
HRW called on the UN Security Council to issue "a presidential statement condemning Sudan's violations of international humanitarian law, the appointment of Janjaweed leader Musa Hilal as a 'presidential advisor,' and its refusal to cooperate with the International Criminal Court".
It also called for an immediate investigation into the attacks in western Darfur by a panel of UN experts, and for the UN to impose "targeted sanctions on those responsible".
International organisations estimated that 200 000 people had died since the Darfur conflict erupted, with more than a third of the six-million population displaced, although the Khartoum government puts the death toll at 9 000.
About 4.2 million people in the area lived on aid handouts.
- AFP
|
News
