Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Darfur: Sudanese government Antonov plane bombs civilians

Five people have been killed in a bombing raid on civilians in the western Sudanese Darfur region, according to the African Union mission in Sudan.

Saturday's attack on villages near Kutum in North Darfur, was carried out by a government Antonov plane, according to the AU force commander, Luke Aprezi. The raid came two days after the AU mission and the United Nations mission held meetings with rebel commanders in the area.

The attack followed an incident on 25 December when armed militia in about 30 vehicles looted Kineen village (8 km Northeast of Kutum), stealing livestock, the AU mission said. The bush land surrounding the village was reportedly set on fire while women were sexually harassed.

Similar attacks had occured on 23 December on Tim village, in which 18 people were reportedly killed and eight others kidnapped.

Violence was also reported in South Darfur, where AU soldiers in Gereida (100 km south of Nyala) found the bodies of two women. A displaced woman from nearby Dar Es Salaam camp reported seeing an armed militiaman open fire on the dead women. Read more >>>

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