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| Africa Horn |
| AU: Darfur militias acting with impunity |
| 2007-04-26 |
| The African Union peacekeeping force in West Darfur told the United Nations on Wednesday that Arab militias were killing and pillaging in the region without arrests by the Sudanese authorities. Major Harry Soko, a Rwandan officer who briefed the head of the UN refugee agency, said that the presence of Sudanese rebel groups in his area had also led to conflict and hundreds of deaths in the past several months. "Arab militias believed to be employed by the [Sudanese government] ... roam freely in our area of responsibility, threatening and killing anybody against the interests of the government," he told Antonio Guterres, the visiting UN High Commissioner for Refugees. An AU police commander, who did not give his name, told the same briefing that the militias committed crimes from banditry to rape and Sudanese police did not arrest them. The government denies any connection with the militias, known locally as Janjaweed and blamed for many of the attacks on villages inhabited by non-Arab farming communities. It says they are outlaws and that it takes action against them when it can. Soko said one area where the rebel presence has added to the violence in recent months was around Sirba, about 45km north of El-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state. "[This has] resulted in the loss of hundreds of lives of Sudanese government personnel, rebels and civilians," he said. "These areas are no-go areas to AU personnel due to threats by the NRF [the rebel National Redemption Front]," he said. The NRF is one of the Darfur rebel groups that have refused to sign the peace agreement signed in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, last year by the government and the main rebel group. Soko listed a number of obstacles facing the AU troops, including the lack of good roads, attack helicopters, night-vision devices and adequate funding. The 5 000 African troops have not been able to bring law and order in Darfur but the Sudanese government has rejected attempts to bring in a large force under UN auspices. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 Float a nuke down the Nile and detonate it in Khartoum. Back when the Darfur genocide began I called for a decapitating strike against Khartoum while its government was in full session. Then Rinse & Repeat as needed until there was some sign of progress. This needs to become a default policy in Iran, Syria, Pakistan and numerous other Islamic shitholes. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-04-26 20:07 |
| #3 The African Union peacekeeping force in West Darfur told the United Nations on Wednesday that Arab militias were killing and pillaging in the region without arrests by the Sudanese authorities. Isn't this the same basic African Union that couldn't bring themselves to condemn Mugabe? Am I detecting a pattern of total incompetence here? Yet, these fuckwits have the utter gall to bewail each increasingly ghastly turn of events even as they refuse to do anything constructive. This is why Africa is swirling down the porcelain bowl. May they all rot in hell. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-04-26 20:04 |
| #2 Float a nuke down the Nile and detonate it in Khartoum. No one will ever be able to determine where it came from. There will be a nice new lake on the Nile, and one set of cataracts will disappear. There will be a lot less violence in eastern Africa, from Chad to Ethiopia, and down into Kenya and Uganda. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2007-04-26 13:01 |
| #1 If the UN was going to do anything about this I'm thinking they would have by now. China has sizeable interests in Sudan, so you won't get anything out of the Security Council. Great system, eh. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2007-04-26 08:32 |