SUDAN: Sudanese authorities are fanning the conflict in the western Darfur region by detaining without trial suspected sympathisers with rebels there, often simply for their views, a rights group said yesterday.
Amnesty International also said authorities had treated with impunity members of the Janjaweed , an Arab militia whom residents accuse of looting African villages and killing villagers throughout Darfur.
Rebels took up arms in February 2003, accusing the government of neglecting the area and arming the Janjaweed.
Khartoum calls the militia outlaws, but analysts say the government has done little or nothing to stop them.
"The vast majority of detainees in Darfur and those arrested outside Darfur in connection with the conflict are not told the reasons for their arrest and are not allowed access to lawyers, families and medical assistance," Amnesty International said in a report.
Detainees were denied the right to be brought promptly before a judge or to challenge their detention, while there were reports of torture, such as severe beatings.
"One reason the abuses have been so horrific and widespread in Darfur is that all members of the Janjaweed militias who have killed, raped, looted and forcibly displaced people since April 2003 have benefited from complete impunity," it said.
It said Khartoum set up a commission of inquiry in May to investigate alleged human rights violations by armed groups in Darfur, but added that the mandate should be widened to include an investigation of any violations by government authorities.
The United Nations says fighting has affected two million people and driven 158,000 refugees across the border into Chad, creating one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters.
In Khartoum, the British Minister for International Development, Mr Hilary Benn, said that Britain was adding £15 million (€22.4 million) to its aid effort, which would raise its allocation since September 2003 to £36.5 million (€54.6 million).
- (Reuters)