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 Re: انهم يكذبون .... دارفور مرة اخرى (Re: ابو تميم)
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NAIROBI,3/22/2004 (IRIN) -
The war-torn Darfur region of western Sudan is
the "world's greatest humanitarian crisis", comparable to the Rwandan
genocide of 1994 in terms of human rights abuses, according to a top UN
official.
Mukesh Kapila, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, told reporters
in Nairobi that the "vicious war" in Darfur had led to violations on a
scale that was comparable in character to the Rwandan situation. "The only
difference between Rwanda and Darfur now is the numbers involved," he
said.
The pattern of organised attacks on civilians and villages, abductions,
killings and organised rapes by militias was getting worse by the day, he
said, and could deteriorate even further. "One can see how the situation
might develop without prompt [action]...all the warning signs are there."
"I think some people are using the term ethnic cleansing and I would say
that is not far off the mark," he added. "I think the term is being used
by certain people because it's one group of people organising themselves
to do away with another group of people, and that's a definition of ethnic
cleansing."
Kapila added that the systematic depopulation of the Darfur region
resembled a "scorched earth policy". "This is more than just a conflict,
it is an organised attempt to do away with a group of people."
In an attack on 27 February in the Tawilah area of northern Darfur, 30
villages were burned to the ground, over 200 people killed and over 200
girls and women raped - some by up to 14 assailants and in front of their
fathers who were later killed. A further 150 women and 200 children were
abducted.
Since a rebellion in the region emerged in February 2004, about 700,000
people have been displaced while another 110,000 have fled to neighbouring
Chad. Over 10,000 are estimated to have lost their lives.
For the last six weeks the refugees in Chad have been attacked almost
daily by militias, known as Janjawid, who cross the porous border to steal
their cattle. Within Darfur the Janjawid regularly steal humanitarian aid
given to displaced people.
About three thousand Darfurians, mostly women and children, who managed to
escape to Khartoum were subjected to shooting and tear gas by riot police
two days ago. By Thursday, the 3,000 had "disappeared" from the camp they
were staying on the outskirts of the city, forced to flee once again.
Kapila urged UN member states to exert pressure to bring the perpetrators
of the crimes in Darfur to justice. "The Member states of the UN should be
heavily engaged in not only seeking political settlement in Darfur but
also exerting pressure to bring justice. What is going on in Darfur today
is tantamount to war crimes."
"Those who are doing these sorts of things should be brought to
justice....Sooner or later it is not just bringing the war to an end in
Darfur that is required, but also bringing justice and redress for the
victims."
The government of Sudan has admitted arming Arab militias to fight the
region's two rebel movements, who are using the opportunity to get rich by
stealing cattle and taking over the region's grazing lands and scarce
water sources from the Fur, Massalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups.
Meanwhile the militias, some of whom wear army uniforms, are reportedly
being assisted by the army and paramilitary units known as the Popular
Defence Forces.
Just this week Amnesty International said "this is not a situation where
the central government has lost control. Men, women and children are being
killed and villages are burnt and looted because the central government is
allowing militias aligned to it to pursue what amounts to a strategy of
forced displacement through the destruction of homes and livelihood of the
farming populations of the region."
AI said it had received information indicating that "the Sudan government
is encouraging the actions of the Janjawid".
Kapila warned that the Darfur situation threatens a Sudanese peace deal
between the government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army,
who are currently negotiating in Kenya. "How can a new settlement be found
when a huge region of the country is up in flames?" he asked.
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