Darfur UN-AU force deputy commander a war criminal?

By: Wasil Ali

August 14, 2007 (KIGALI) — A Rwandan opposition group have accused the newly nominated deputy commander for the Darfur hybrid force of being a “War Criminal”.

The Rwandan United Democratic Forces (UDF) opposition group said in a statement sent to Sudan Tribune that Major General Karenzi Karake has been documented to be responsible for a number of killings between 1992 and 2000.

Last week, the UN and the AU endorsed the nomination Karake to be the Deputy Chief Commander of UN-AU force to be deployed in Darfur.

UDF allege in once incident that Karake as Head of Military Intelligence, directed an assault against an Internally Displaced Camp (IDP) camp on April 22, 1995 leading to the death of 8,000 people.

The UDF also accused Karake of masterminding the assassination of Rwandan politicians at during 1992-94.

Rwanda has around 2,000 peacekeepers out of the 7,000 troops in Darfur as part of the African Union forces and has promised to send additional ones as part of the hybrid force.

The UDF statement described the nomination of Karake as “an insult to Africa, to Sudan as a State and to the suffering Sudanese as well as to the memory of Rwandan victims of his crimes”.

The U.N. Security Council last month authorized up to 26,000 troops and police for Darfur and approved the use of force to protect civilians against violence which has driven more than 2.1 million people from their homes over the past four years.

(ST)