Military

UN reports deadly attacks in West Darfur, Sudan

15 March 2006 – 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.