Sudan militias burned villagers alive, says report

MILITIAS have chained civilians together and set them on fire in Sudan's western Darfur region, according to a report by an African Union monitoring team in the region.

Tens of thousands have been killed in the region during a 17-month conflict.

The monitors are supposed to be observing a ceasefire signed in April between the government and the region's two rebel groups. But fighting has continued in Darfur, where militias drawn mostly from nomadic Arab tribes have launched a brutal campaign to drive out black African farmers.