Sudanese Police Attack On Aid Workers Tests U.N. Chief's Diplomacy

Sudanese Police Attack On Aid Workers Tests U.N. Chief's Diplomacy
He Calls It 'Unacceptable' in Letter to Bashir

By Colum Lynch

UNITED NATIONS -- On Jan. 19, a group of 20 international aid workers and peacekeepers celebrated their day off with an afternoon of dining, drinking and dancing at the guesthouse of the private relief agency, the American Refugee Committee, in the town of Nyala, Darfur.

The outing ended in the early evening when Sudanese police and security agents broke into the house, videotaped the attendees -- which included five U.N. workers, representatives of six U.S. and British aid agencies, and African Union peacekeepers -- and then beat them with batons and rifle butts and sexually assaulted at least one female U.N. worker. Locals cheered from the street, and some joined in the assault. Read more >>>>>>>>>