U.N. observers accuse Sudan of massive human rights abuses

GENEVA, April 22, 2004 (dpa) — United Nations observers on Thursday reiterated their criticisms of the government of Sudan for alleged massive human rights violations in the Darfur region in the west of the country.

Ahead of a scheduled visit to Darfur made possible by Sudan only after weeks of waiting, a delegation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Thursday cited numerous cases of murder, rape and expulsion in an interim report on Sudan.

The crimes were committed against Black African inhabitants by Arab militias supported by the Sudanese army.

The massive occurrence of human rights abuses was “alarming”, and many of the abuses “could represent war crimes or crimes against humanity”, the report said.

The findings of the report were based on interviews with Sudanese refugees in camps in neighbouring Chad which the U.N. delegation had visited from April 5 to 14.

The Sudanese government in Khartoum allowed the U.N. observers to enter Sudan only after weeks of waiting. The group is due to travel to Darfur on Thursday.

The Eastern Sudanese region has been the site of heavy clashes between nomadic groups of Arab descent and Black African residents. The conflict over the area’s limited resources is one of the worst humanitarian disasters worldwide, according to the U.N.

At least 10,000 people have been killed and about 750,000 fled the region as a result of the conflict which began about 14 months ago.