Sudan Government Responsible for Ethnic Cleansing, Group Says

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May 7 (Bloomberg) -- The Sudanese government is responsible for the ethnic cleansing of African Muslims in its western Darfur region, according to a report from campaign group Human Rights Watch.

Government forces have helped so-called Arab Janjaweed militias kill thousands of members of the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups, according to the report. More than one million civilians have been driven into camps and settlements from their homes, and in excess of 110,000 others have fled into neighboring Chad.

Human Rights Watch says Sudan's government should immediately disband and disarm the Janjaweed militia, and allow food and medical supplies to be delivered to the region to prevent a crisis. One hundred thousand civilians may die in Darfur from hunger and disease over the next year, according to Roger Winter of the U.S. Agency for International Development. The report also calls for a United Nations investigation.

"We've asked the UN to require that the Sudanese government withdraw the militias from the area," said Jemera Rone, Sudan researcher at Human Rights Watch, and one of the report's authors. "We also want them to immediately investigate the human rights abuses with an eye to prosecuting the perpetrators."

Sudan Government Responsible for Ethnic Cleansing....

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From the Horse's Mouth: Sudan: Government Commits "Ethnic Cleansing" in Darfur

Related: Civilians killed in fighting in southern Sudan

From Yesterday: Sudan Starving Darfur Refugees

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Photo from hrw report:



Sudanese refugees struggle to raise a collapsed donkey after a 34-day march towards safety in Chad.