Sunday, January 07, 2007

Sudan orders air strikes on Darfur before arrival of UN peacekeepers

By Jonathan Erasmus in Darfur, Sunday Telegraph

The Sudanese government has unleashed a fresh aerial bombing campaign in Darfur in an attempt to inflict as much damage as possible on rebel forces before United Nations troops arrive in the region.

Antonov bombers and helicopter gunships are reported to have attacked villages and fired on civilians in open defiance of UN efforts to bring an end to the fighting.

The attacks are in breach of UN Security Council resolution 1591, passed in March 2005, forbidding "offensive military flights in and over the Darfur region". The new surge of attacks is targeting rebel strongholds throughout Darfur, where militias have secured key territories.

The African Union force commander, Major Gen Luke Aprezi, confirmed the attacks and said... Read more >>>

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