Sudan raids 'may be war crimes'
The draft report by a United Nations human rights mission, which has left Geneva for Sudan to continue its investigation, called for an international inquiry into the allegations.
"The mission was able to identify disturbing patterns of massive human rights violations in Darfur, many of which may constitute war crimes and/or crimes against humanity," the report concluded.
"An international commission of inquiry is required," it added.
It also urged the Sudanese government to "unequivocally condemn all actions and crimes" and to ensure the militia was disbanded.
The Sudanese government and rebels in Darfur are holding talks in neighbouring Chad to end the year-long conflict.
About 10,000 people are thought to have been killed, while about 670,000 people have fled their homes, with more than 100,000 seeking refuge in Chad.
The UN had postponed releasing the document to the UN Human Rights Commission, before it was leaked to the media.
When in Chad, the mission interviewed refugees who escaped alleged ethnic cleansing. It is now on its way to Darfur. But the report raised the more serious allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The mission also exposed a high proportion - about 80% - of women and children among the refugees, raising the possibility that men had either stayed behind to tend livestock, take part in the rebellion, or had been targeted.
"There was a remarkable consistency in the witness testimony," the report said.
It outlined a pattern of air raids, ground attacks by militia or soldiers, indiscriminate civilian killings, multiple rape and pillaging.
"These forces indiscriminately attacked those who had not fled, such as the elderly and disabled ... with particular emphasis on men and boys."
The report said the conflict appeared to stem from a lack of development in the rest of Sudan compared to the capital, Khartoum.
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