Darfur: UN rights office calls for independent probe into deadly attacks on civilians

The United Nations human rights office today called on the Sudanese Government to order an independent inquiry into recent “massive” attacks by Arab tribesmen in Darfur that may have killed hundreds of civilians from “African” tribes in an assault apparently conducted “with the knowledge and material support” of Government authorities.

At the same time, a host of other UN agencies condemned a “massive upsurge” of rape and violence against women and children. Extreme violence has been a feature of the Darfur conflict since it erupted in 2003 between the Government, allied militia and rebels seeking greater economic benefits. But in the past months attacks on women and girls, both within and outside camps for the displaced, have soared, the agencies stressed.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) called on the Government to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian and medical aid and create conditions conducive to the return of the displaced population by ensuring better protection.

In a report prepared with the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), OHCHR said 300 to 1,000 armed men from the Habbania tribe carried out a series of attacks on some 45 villages.

It called on the African Union Mission in Sudan to “engage with the Government of National Unity in order to deploy as soon as possible protection forces to the area… and establish minimal security conditions” for the return of civilians.

“From 28 August until the beginning of September 2006, militia groups from the Habbania tribe embarked on a brutal campaign in the Buram locality of South Darfur,” OHCHR said, noting that Habbania is one of the main Arab tribes of Darfur.

“The campaign, marked by widespread targeting of civilians from tribes that are locally referred to as being of African origin, wholesale burning of villages, looting and forced displacement, appears to have been conducted with the knowledge and material support of Government authorities. The attacks resulted in a death toll that could amount to several hundred civilians,” it added.

The report also highlighted a possible Government role in its conclusions. “Government knowledge, if not complicity, in the attacks is almost certain,” it declared, adding that Habbania militia members wore khaki uniforms similar to those worn by government forces, carried heavy weaponry in most cases, and were accompanied by vehicles.

“Several interviewees noted that the Habbania militiamen themselves do not possess vehicles nor the kind of heavy weapons used during the attacks such as RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) and vehicle-mounted machine guns,” it said.

A meeting of Government officials with Habbania prior to the attack also indicated previous government knowledge, it added.

Calling the attacks “massive,” it said they resulted “in an extremely chaotic displacement, causing widespread separation of families and scores of missing children.

“Subsequent attacks on IDPs (internally displaced persons) fleeing the fighting, carried out by militia from the government-allied Fallata tribe, caused the displaced population to scatter even further, hampering efforts to deliver aid to those affected,” it noted.

The report cited witness as saying: “Most of our people are hiding in the bushes. The only routes connecting inhabited villages pass through Janjaweed (militia) held areas, while other roads have been submersed by water because of the rain. There are injured and sick who were caught in the fighting. Many people have gone missing. People cannot leave the area without protection. We call for the international community to intervene immediately to help the civilians in the area.”

In its background on the attacks, the report noted that in the 1970s, the area received many groups of migrants mostly of non-Arab origin fleeing drought from the North. The number of immigrants reached a high level in 1984 due to famine in other parts of the region. New arrivals occupied “empty” land and started cultivating on what was believed to be land that belongs to the Habbania. While these groups kept practicing their own culture and having their own Sheikhs, they administratively were under Habbania.

Raising the alarm over violence against women and children, the agencies urged the African Union forces to resume regular firewood and area patrols to provide effective protection to the civilian population, called on all parties, including armed groups within IDP camps, to stop all acts of violence, and reminded the Government “of its obligation to rigorously and transparently investigate and prosecute all crimes.”

The agencies are: the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).