Attacks Against Displaced Persons In Darfur

UN Receives New Reports Of Attacks Against Displaced Persons In Darfur, Sudan

The United Nations is continuing to receive fresh reports of attacks against internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region, where tens of thousands of people have already been killed and more than 1.65 million others are displaced.

Some IDPs from the village of Uma Kasara in South Darfur, one of three states in the region, told UN humanitarian officials that unidentified gunmen burned their village on 2 October, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters today.

They said about 650 families from their village and two neighbouring villages had to flee because of the attack. Three policemen were reported killed. UN agencies have also been informed of other attacks and burnings in villages across South Darfur.

IDPs are still arriving at the already overcrowded camp in Kalma, close to the state capital of Nyala, joining an estimated 60,000 residents there.

More than 1.45 million people are internally displaced within Darfur and another 200,000 live as refugees in neighbouring Chad, part of what UN senior officials have described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Fighting began early last year when two rebel groups took up arms against Sudanese Government forces. In response, Government-allied militias known as the Janjaweed have repeatedly attacked civilians, killing or raping villagers and destroying homes, wells and cropland.

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