Sudanese Arab militia launching cross-border raids into Chad to attack refugees

By ANDREW ENGLAND Associated Press Writer

N’DJAMENA, Chad, Mar 04, 2004 (AP) — Sudanese Arab militia are launching cross-border raids into Chad to attack and loot from refugees who have fled fighting in neighboring western Sudan, the head of the U.N. refugee agency said Thursday.

The attacks in eastern Chad by the militia – who are backed by the Sudanese government – are “limited, but it’s for real,” said Ruud Lubbers, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

“Small scale incursions take place now also on the territory of Chad,” Lubbers told The Associated Press.

UNHCR has received reports that eight refugees were killed by militia fighters south of the Chadian border town of Adre last week, said Kitty McKinsey, the agency’s spokeswoman.

The United Nations estimates that some 110,000 people, mainly women and children, have fled into Chad from Sudan’s Darfur region in recent months as a yearlong rebellion has intensified.

Many of the refugees live in ramshackle shelters made of sticks and plastic bags along the border in eastern Chad, a remote desert region with few resources.

The refugees say they fled after Sudanese government planes bombed their villages and Arab militia and Sudanese troops raided their homes, burning houses, stealing their livestock and killing men, women and children.

The militia, who carry out their raids on horses and camels, are drawn from Sudan’s Muslim Arab population, while the traditional inhabitants of Darfur are black African Muslims.

Earlier this month, Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir claimed he had crushed the two rebels groups – the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement – and on Feb. 9 he said the army was in full control of Darfur.

Lubbers, however, said fighting has continued.

“We think, contrary to what the president of Sudan said two weeks ago … that is too optimistic, it’s not the case,” Lubbers said after visiting refugees in eastern Chad.

McKinsey said the militia appear to be carrying out the cross-border raids to steal livestock.

“It’s clear that the refugees are still being terrorized by armed men who cross over from the Darfur side,” she said.

Aid groups have had little access to Darfur and details about the situation in the region have been sketchy.

The insurgency erupted in February 2003 and thousands are thought to have been killed. Aid groups estimate that more than 600,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in Darfur.

The conflict has worsened as peace talks between the government and southern rebels fighting a 21-year civil war have inched toward their conclusion. Those talks, staged in Kenya, resumed Feb. 17, but do not include the Darfur rebels, who say they are fighting for a greater share of power and wealth in Africa’s largest country – the same as the southern rebels.

Analysts have warned that the insurgency could derail the peace process between the government and the southern rebels.

“It’s difficult to see real peace in Sudan if there’s not peace in Darfur,” Lubbers said. “It is totally desperate … and the continuation of misery brings more misery.”