UN reports deadly attacks in West Darfur, Sudan

UN reports deadly attacks in West Darfur, Sudan

The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) today reported that it has received various reports about a series of deadly attacks in West Darfur over the past week.

A UN spokesman said this weekend, around 1,000 unidentified militants, travelling in motor vehicles and on camels and horses, reportedly attacked a village and killed eight people and stole livestock.

Meanwhile, Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Representative for Sudan, Jan Pronk, met yesterday with the head of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) now deployed in Darfur to discuss a possible transition to a UN force there.

They agreed on the need for a joint approach and have decided to meet once a week, a spokesman for the world body said.

In a report to the Council released yesterday, Mr. Annan said planning for a transition from AMIS to a UN peacekeeping operation must take into consideration “the ongoing violence and consistent violation of human rights in the region, the displacement of more than 3 million people and increasing instability near the border with Chad.”

International efforts in Darfur should aim to “contribute to the protection of civilians at risk with a view to creating an environment conducive to national reconciliation in a country where human rights are respected and internally displaced persons and refugees can return home in safety and dignity,” he stressed.

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