LONDON — A United Nations report found that Sudan's government
has encouraged militia attacks that have killed hundreds of civilians in
Darfour.
The UN said hundreds of civilians could have been killed in an offensive
by regime-aligned Arab militias in Darfour in August and September, Middle East Newsline reported. A UN
report said the militia attack in the Buram region of southern Darfour was
conducted with "material support" from the Khartoum regime.
"The [UN] is urging the government of Sudan to order an independent
investigation into recent militia attacks that may have left hundreds of
civilians dead in south Darfour," UN human rights commissioner Louise Arbour
said.
The statement significantly revised the estimated death toll from the
militia raids, which began on Aug. 28 and continued through September. The
High Commissioner's office reported the original death toll at 38.
In the latest report, released on Monday, the UN said Arab tribesmen
killed hundreds of people and drove thousands of others from their homes in
Darfour. The UN said the attacks were conducted by between 300 and 1,000
armed men from the Habbania "Arab" tribe.
"The report says the large-scale assaults resulted in chaotic
displacement, widespread separation of families and scores of missing
children," the UN statement said.
The UN said another Arab tribe, identified as Fallata, also attacked
Darfour civilians and the government now controls the Buram region. The
report said civilians were driven yet farther away from their homes without
food and water in what diplomats said marked an apparent government attempt
to expel non-Arabs from southern Darfour.
