Thursday, April 05, 2007

DARFUR: DEADLY MILITIA ATTACK ON CHADIAN VILLAGES DISPLACES SCORES


Geneva,AKI) - A deadly weekend attack on two villages in south-eastern Chad, possibly carried out by Janjaweed militias from Sudan's neighbouring Darfur region, has forced at least 2,000 people to flee their homes and seek safety in nearby camps, the United Nations refugee agency reports. At least 65 people were killed and 70 others were wounded, half of them seriously, according to preliminary reports following the attack, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson Ron Redmond said Tuesday.

The killings took place on Saturday in the villages of Tiero and Marena, when armed men on horseback and camelback, as well as in motor vehicles, surrounded the two villages and began to fire at random before pursuing and robbing the locals as they tried to flee.

Testimony from survivors interviewed by UNHCR and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) indicate that the attack was led by the notorious Janjaweed militias, which have been allied to Sudanese government forces during the brutal war in Darfur since 2003. Read more >>>

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