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20 March 2008
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UN Finds Deliberate Targeting of Civilians in West Darfur Attacks
20/03/2008
A UN report finds that the attacks on four villages in West Darfur in January and February, targeting civilians, were part of a deliberate campaign by the Sudanese Armed Forces to drive out the rebel Justice and Equality Movement and regain control of the area.
The report was issued in Geneva by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the joint United Nations/African Union mission in Darfur, UNAMID.
At least 115 people were killed and 30,000 were displaced as a result of the aerial bombardments, accompanied by ground attacks by militias and army forces. The report says these actions violated international humanitarian law by failing to distinguish between civilian objects and military objectives. It adds that the large scale of destruction of civilian property, suggests the damage was done deliberately as part of a military strategy. In the case of the village of Sirba, there were also accounts of extensive pillaging and of rape, committed by armed uniformed men during and after the attack.
The activities of the rebel group prior to the government's military offensive were also found to be in breach of the ceasefire agreement of 2004.
The report urges the Sudanese government to cease hostilities in the area and calls on all parties in the Darfur conflict to respect their obligations and refrain from targeting civilians.
Reporting for UN Radio, I'm Bissera Kostova.
The report was issued in Geneva by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the joint United Nations/African Union mission in Darfur, UNAMID.
At least 115 people were killed and 30,000 were displaced as a result of the aerial bombardments, accompanied by ground attacks by militias and army forces. The report says these actions violated international humanitarian law by failing to distinguish between civilian objects and military objectives. It adds that the large scale of destruction of civilian property, suggests the damage was done deliberately as part of a military strategy. In the case of the village of Sirba, there were also accounts of extensive pillaging and of rape, committed by armed uniformed men during and after the attack.
The activities of the rebel group prior to the government's military offensive were also found to be in breach of the ceasefire agreement of 2004.
The report urges the Sudanese government to cease hostilities in the area and calls on all parties in the Darfur conflict to respect their obligations and refrain from targeting civilians.
Reporting for UN Radio, I'm Bissera Kostova.
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20/03/2008