Sudanese militia 'chained villagers, then burned them alive'

Militias chained civilians together and set them on fire in Sudan’s western Darfur region, where tens of thousands have been killed in a 17-month conflict, according to a report by an African Union monitoring team in the region.

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.

Following up complaints of ceasefire violations from both the Sudanese government and one of Darfur’s two rebel groups, the African Union monitoring team confirmed violations did occur this month, said the report.

Investigating a complaint made by the rebel Sudanese Liberation Army, the fact-finding team discovered “the entire Ehada village had been burnt and deserted except for a few men. The ceasefire commission concluded that this was an unwarranted and unprovoked attack on the civilian population by the Janjaweed”, as the Arab militia is known, the report said.

The monitoring team found out about another Janjaweed attack when it was investigating a complaint by the Sudanese government against both rebels groups, the Sudanese Liberation Army and the Justice for Equality Movement, for attacking the village of Suleia.

The monitors instead “discovered that Suleia was attacked by militia elements believed to be Janjaweed. The attackers looted the market and killed civilians, in some cases, by chaining them and burning them alive,” the report said.

The Darfur conflict stems from long-standing tensions between nomadic Arab tribes and their African neighbours over dwindling water and farmland. Tensions exploded into violence in February 2003, when two African rebel groups took up arms over what they regard as unjust treatment by the government.

The United Nations estimates up to 30,000 people have been killed in Darfur, more than a million driven from their homes, and 2.2 million left in urgent need of food and other aid. The US Congress has labelled the atrocities genocide.

The EU, US and humanitarian groups accuse the Sudanese government of backing the Janjaweed with vehicles, helicopters and aircraft – a claim Khartoum denies.