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25-Mar-2004

Refugees attacked as violence escalates in west Sudan

by: Sam Mwangi

Sudan: According to a top UN official, government backed Arab militants in Darfur have displaced over 700,000 people. Some have fled to neighboring Chad as ethnic violence escalates.

Mukesh Kapila, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, said that fleeing refugees have been attacked, raped and abducted by the Arab militants, also known as Janjawid. Janjawid crosses the porous border to steal cattle and humanitarian aid given to the refugees.

The militant’s pattern of organised attacks, rapes, and killings is getting worse by the day and the situation could deteriorate even further. Kapila thinks that all the warning signs are there and described the situation as the world’s greatest humanitarian crisis.

It is estimated that over 10,000 non-Arab people have died since the violence started in the region in February 2003. About 3,000 Darfurians, mainly women and children, managed to escape to the capital city, Khartoum, only to be subject to shooting and tear gas as riot police forced them to flee again.

Officials are urging UN Member States to exert pressure in order to bring the perpetrators to justice. Member States of the UN should be heavily engaged in seeking political settlement in Darfur and bringing about justice.

Meanwhile the fighting in the west could undermine the government’s peace talks with southern Sudan rebels. The talks are trying to resolve a 20-year war, which has left 2 million people dead.

Source: UN IRIN