Human Rights Watch criticizes recent clashes between government-led Sudan forces, rebels. A leading international rights watchdog on Tuesday said renewed attacks in the restive region of Darfur showed that the war was not over.
Sudanese army attacks killed 16 civilians and destroyed several villages over two days last month, New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a report.
"Recent clashes between the governing party-led Sudan armed forces and rebels in September and the use of indiscriminate bombings demonstrate that the war is not over," the report said.
It quoted witnesses in North Darfur as saying that army attacks in May destroyed a town’s water pumps and had killed or wounded dozens of civilians.
Khartoum and Darfur’s most active rebel group, Justice and Equality Movement, are due to resume peace talks in Qatar this month.
Before negotiations broke off earlier this year, JEM signed a February deal on confidence-building measures that was hailed by the international community. It marked the rebel group’s first contacts with the government since 2007.
Apart from the trouble caused by the Drafur rebels and their foreign backers, Chad has added considerably to the suffering of Sudanese refugees.
Tens of thousands of women who fled unrest in Darfur face the daily threat or rape and violence in refugee camps in neighbouring Chad, Amnesty International said Wednesday.
"Darfuri refugee women and girls face high levels of rape and other violence on a daily basis both inside and outside refugee camps in eastern Chad, despite the presence of UN security forces, said the Amnesty International report.
