UN threatens prosecution as death toll from attack on Darfur camp rises to 34

04:53 AM EDT Oct 01
GENEVA (AP) - The United Nations condemned a militia attack on a refugee camp in Darfur that left 34 dead, warning Friday that the perpetrators will be referred to the International Criminal Court for prosecution.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said it sent a team to the Aro Sharow camp that had discovered more details about Wednesday's attack by a large group of armed men riding horses and camels.

The UNHCR team reported that many of camp's 4,000 to 5,000 residents had returned from surrounding areas "where they initially fled as the horsemen swooped into the camp, killing residents and burning down their makeshift shelters," the agency said.

The survivors said the attackers included up to 300 Arab men.

The 34 people killed in the attack were men. Half had been living at the camp and half in nearby villages, UNHCR said. One of the victims appeared to have had his arms bound before being killed, and witnesses reported that he was tied up and dragged behind a horse until he died, the agency said.

In New York, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said: "The secretary-general emphasizes the need to immediately halt the attacks and bring the perpetrators to justice."

In Khartoum, a senior official of the National Congress, the major partner in Sudan's governing coalition, said no government troops were involved in the attack.

The official, Hussein Barqu, said the Sudanese government would consult the government of Chad, which borders West Darfur, about the suspected perpetrators.

"This (attack) threatens the security of both Sudan and Chad," Barqu said.

The United Nations estimates that the Darfur conflict has left 180,000 people dead, many from hunger and disease, and has driven 2 million from their homes since it started in February 2003.

UNHCR said it was concerned that the deterioration in security was slowing aid supplies, and could prompt Darfur's refugees to flee again, possibly to neighbouring Chad, which already has more than 200,000 Sudan refugees.

The Darfur crisis began when rebels took up arms against what they saw as years of state neglect and discrimination against Sudanese of African origin. The government is accused of responding with a counter-insurgency campaign in which the ethnic Arab militia, known as Janjaweed, committed widespread abuses against ethnic Africans.

© The Canadian Press, 2005