 More than 350 militia fighters mounted on horses and camels rampaged through a village in southern Darfur this week, the African Union and the United Nations said. "We condemn this senseless and premeditated savage attack", which destroyed everything in the rebel-held village of Khor Abeche but the mosque and the school, the organisations said in a joint statement on Friday, vowing to refer the militia commander to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions. The statement for the first time in the troubled region named the commander, identifying him as Nasir al-Tijani Abd al-Qadir of the Misairiya tribe, based in the militia stronghold of Nitega. The Security Council recently has voted to impose a travel ban and an asset freeze on those responsible for atrocities against civilians or cease-fire violations in Darfur and to refer those responsible for war crimes to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
| Right. Nasir's not allowed to ride his camel to The Hague for his trial... |
The Darfur attack appeared to be in retaliation for the alleged theft of 150 head of cattle, which the fighters blamed on Khor Abeche villagers, the AU-UN statement said. |