Sudan: human rights abuses starts again

Sudan has made its first arrests of military and security forces accused of raping and killing civilians and of burning villages in the &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/world/20/91/367/12391_Sudan.html ' target=_blank>Darfur region of western Sudan, Justice Minister Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin said Monday. Mr. Yassin said that a government committee had arrested 15 members of the police, military and security forces in Darfur in connection with human rights abuses and that they would immediately be sent to court. They are accused of crimes that include "rape, killing, burning and other things - different kinds of atrocities," he said. The United Nations Security Council is expected to vote Wednesday on a French-drafted resolution that would send those responsible for war crimes in Darfur to the International Criminal Court. Sudan rejects the notion of referring any Sudanese citizen to a court outside Sudan, saying its own judicial system is competent to prosecute those guilty of crimes, reports the New York Times. According to CBC News, There is some urgency to the move since the UN Security Council is expected to vote Wednesday on a resolution to send suspects in Sudan to the &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/world/2002/07/02/31652.html ' target=_blank>International Criminal Court in The Hague. The outcome of that vote is uncertain. China which buys oil from Sudan, and Russia which sells Sudan arms, both have a Security Council veto. Politicians in &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/main/2002/07/31/33495_.html ' target=_blank>Khartoum say that they will reject any UN vote that refers war crimes suspects to The Hague court. The international community has condemned Khartoum and the pro-government &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/printed.html?news_id=14680 ' target=_blank>Janjaweed militia in Sudan's western Darfur region for their roles in killing thousands of villagers and forcing nearly two million from their homes. The Khartoum government has admitted to arming some militia in early 2003, but it denies any links to the Janjaweed and calls them outlaws. The UN estimates about 180,000 people have died in violence in the Darfur region since October 2003, two-and-a-half times the previous estimate. At least 1.8 million people have been forced from their homes since early 2003, when rebels took up arms against the Sudanese government. NR

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