SUDAN: The chairman of the African Union, which is trying to broker agreement between the government of Sudan and rebel factions in the Darfur region of the country, has said the government launched fresh attacks on civilians as recently as last week.
The comments yesterday by Mr Olusegun Obasanjo, who is also the Nigerian president, came as the United Nations security council deadline passed for Khartoum to "rein in" the Janjaweed militia, its proxy force in Darfur that has been attacking civilians there.
Mr Obasanjo's comments came during a meeting with representatives of the rebels and the Sudanese government, who were holding talks in the Nigerian capital Abuja to try to find a solution to the conflict.
"The reported attacks by the government forces have been confirmed to me by the AU chairman of the ceasefire monitoring commission," Mr Obasanjo said in comments that were recorded.
The talks, which started last week, have foundered amid accusations of ceasefire violations from both sides. Rebels have already staged a 24-hour boycott of the talks in protest at the attacks, which they say killed 75 civilians in six villages.
Up to 50,000 people have died since the conflict began in February 2003, and more than a million have fled their homes for fear of attack by Arab militia Janjaweed. Khartoum says the attacks on Darfuris were carried out by "outlaws" and it is not responsible for their actions.
Mr Obasanjo said he had written to Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir asking him to ensure all attacks on civilians by government forces and the Janjaweed stop to avoid undermining the peace talks.
Meanwhile, in comments which the Sudan government will not welcome, attacks on refugees in Darfur were still a major problem, a senior UN official said yesterday. Mr Dennis McNamara, special advisor to the UN Emergency Relief Co-ordinator on Displacement, said the attacks included multiple rapes by armed militia of Darfuri women and girls.
"It hasn't stopped. There are enough first-hand, credible reports that this remains a major problem. Security needs to be improved and perpetrators need to be prosecuted," he told a news conference in Nairobi after visiting victims in the camps.
The UN Security Council deadline for the Sudanese government to improve safety for Darfuri refugees or face possible sanctions expired yesterday.
In what has become a multi-pronged international drive to tackle the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, 155 Nigerian troops arrived in Darfur yesterday to join an African Union force mandated for the region. They would join 155 troops sent by Rwanda to protect African Union representatives monitoring a ceasefire there.