The United Nations human rights office on Friday accused Sudanese security forces of killing more than 100 people in indiscriminate machine-gun attacks on villages in South Darfur over a three-month period.
In a report covering January to March, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour called on the government to carry out an independent investigation into the attacks near Nyala, in which she said border intelligence personnel had been involved.
”In all instances, witnesses described hundreds of heavily armed attackers, many of who were identified as border intelligence personnel,” the report said.
”During all the incidents, attackers fired indiscriminately from the outskirts of the settlements with heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, before entering the settlements and shooting men.”
The border intelligence, often recruited from the local population, is a generally secretive unit but ”known to be under the control of military intelligence”, the report said.
It said some attackers had left behind military identification cards.
The violence, in an area known as Bulbul, began with a land dispute between two ethnic Arab groups, the Rizeigat Abbala and Tarjum, according to the 10-page report. It said Sudanese forces had sided with the Rizeigat Abbala in carrying out the attacks.
”The office is seriously concerned that to date no effective action has been taken by the government to prevent the attacks or bring the perpetrators to justice,” the UN report said.
At least 200 000 people have been killed and more than two million displaced since 2003 in an ethnic and political conflict triggered by a rebellion in Darfur. Rebels are fighting government troops and their Janjaweed militia allies. — Reuters