Rights watchdog urges greater international protection for Darfur civilians
May 19, 2008 (NEW YORK) — Human Rights Watch urged today the international community to provide greater protection for civilians in western Sudan troubled region of Darfur. It also urged targeted sanctions on Sudanese officials.
In a 35 page report released today, ‘They Shot at Us as We Fled’ Human Rights Watch documents how government attacks last February on several towns in West Darfur’s “northern corridor” were a vicious reprise of Khartoum’s “scorched earth” counterinsurgency tactics.
The report, based on interviews with more than 60 witnesses and victims of the attacks in West Darfur, shows how Sudanese armed forces and government-backed “Janjaweed” militia killed and injured hundreds of civilians and destroyed and looted property.
The attacks occurred on February 8, 18, 19 and 22 in the towns of Abu Suruj, Sirba, Silea, and in the villages in and around Jebel Mun, a mountainous rebel-held area in northern West Darfur.
The rights group said that Khartoum’s continuing violations of international law highlight the urgent need for the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) to be fully deployed, equipped and trained to effectively protect civilians where they are most at risk.
The report further calls on the UN Security Council to impose targeted sanctions on those responsible for the attacks, enforce sanctions it has already imposed, and ensure that UNAMID has adequate resources to effectively protect civilians from attack. The report also calls on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate and prosecute offenses in West Darfur that fall within its jurisdiction.
Human Rights Watch found that the government attacks carried out on four locations in February followed a similar pattern. Aircraft bombed civilian areas, followed by soldiers in military vehicles and hundreds of “Janjaweed” militia on horses and camels who raided and burned towns and villages.
The attackers killed more than 120 civilians, set fire to hundreds of dwellings and looted civilian property, including clinics of nongovernmental organizations.
The rights watchdog criticised the international community saying the UN Security Council has taken no serious action to address the abuses. For its part, Sudan has not acknowledged any wrongdoing or taken any steps to investigate or punish the crimes.
Khartoum says the report has continued its campaign of indiscriminate bombing in North Darfur, reportedly killing at least 13 people, including seven children, in an attack on a school and a market on May 4, 2008.
The February attacks and continuing attacks on civilians demonstrate the current limitations of UNAMID and its capacity to effectively protect civilians, the group stated.
The peacekeeping forces based in the capital of South Darfur Al Geneina and Kulbus, about 50 kilometers from the areas that were attacked, were unable to move quickly to the fleeing populations because they lacked sufficient troops and equipment.
Human Rights Watch called on UN member states to provide UNAMID with the resources it needs to respond rapidly and robustly to protect civilians under attack and those who remain at risk of attack, and to urgently increase UNAMID’s presence in northern West Darfur where civilians remain unprotected.
The February attacks displaced an estimated 40,000 people, of whom 13,000 are refugees in eastern Chad. The majority of residents of Abu Suruj and Sirba, the two towns closest to Al Geneina, have returned, while Jebel Mun and surrounding areas are still largely abandoned.
Some residents who returned have reported that government soldiers now based there are committing human rights abuses, including sexual violence against women and girls, the report said.
Human Rights Watch called on the Security Council to impose targeted sanctions on those responsible for the February attacks and to establish benchmarks for the parties to the conflict to monitor their compliance with obligations under international law and existing Security Council resolutions, and impose sanctions for non-compliance.
(ST)
To view the Human Rights Watch latest report on Darfur please visit:
http://hrw.org/reports/2008/darfur0508/