Human Rights group reports massacre of 136 men in Darfur
By Evelyn Leopold
UNITED NATIONS, April 22 (Reuters) – Arab militia and Sudanese government troops were responsible for the massacre of 136 African men in the Darfur region last month, Human Rights Watch charged on Thursday.
The New York-based rights group said it had documented dozens of attacks by Arab militias, known as janjaweed, during a month of research in western Sudan. It said that all but two of the attacks against black Africans were carried out in conjunction with government forces.
“The janjaweed are no longer simply militias supported by the Sudanese government,” Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch’s executive director, said in a statement. “These militias work in unison with government troops, with total impunity for their massive crimes.
Human Rights Watch said the 136 men, all members of the Fur ethnic group aged between 20 and 60, were rounded up on March 5 in two sweeps in Darfur’s Garsila and Mugjir areas.
They were then taken in army trucks to nearby valleys where they were made to kneel before being killed with a bullet in the back of the neck, Human Rights Watch said.
“Operations carried out by the janjaweed often enjoy air support from the government of Sudan, both aerial bombardment before operations and helicopter reconnaissance afterwards to ensure the area is empty,” Human Rights Watch said.
“In many villages, regular troops and janjaweed forces establish a joint presence — often in the local police station — before going out to burn and pillage,” the group said.
The United Nations estimates that close to 1 million people have been affected by the conflict, with some 750,000 forced out of their homes and tens of thousands having fled to Chad.
The Khartoum government denies backing for the militia. Peace talks are due to start Saturday in the N’Djamena, Chad.
People from the Garsila area said they woke up on March 5 to find an area encompassing 32 villages surrounded by government troops and janjaweed. The fighters then entered the villages and began questioning the men.
That same night, according to local people, 72 men were loaded into army trucks and driven to a valley where all but one were executed. The survivor, who had been left for dead, returned to report the massacre, Human Rights Watch said.
Another 65 men were reported to have been executed in a similar operation in the Mugjir area, east of Garsila. Details were not available because there were no survivors, Human Rights Watch said.