Office of the Spokesperson and Media Directorate

The Republic of Sudan
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Office of the Spokesperson and Media Directorate

Press release

In a blatant defiance of all international laws and conventions, the rebel Militia continues tot commit atrocities, war crimes and ethnic cleansing, particularly in the States of West and Central Darfur and North Kordofan as well as in the safe residential areas in the greater Omdurman, Khartoum State, despite pledges made by its representatives at the Jeddah talks, to protect civilians and facilitate the provision of humanitarian assistance.

Over the past days, the Militia has committed the following crimes:

1. The escalation of its ethnic cleansing operations in the State of West Darfur, which began last June by assassinating the Wali of the State, killing and maiming more than four thousand civilians from the Masalit tribe, and forcibly displacing most of the population of the State Capital and its surroundings from their *homes* . The killings on ethnic basis carried out by the militia have lately expanded to include raids on houses in the Erdemta area one by one in search of new victims. Leaders of the native administration, have especially been targeted. Within few days both Al-Farsha Mohammed and his son and eight of his grandchildren, and Al-Farsha Abdul Basit Suleiman Dina, his wife and son were assassinated. It is known that the Militia had already *killed* the brother of Sultan Dar Masalit. In addition, large numbers of innocent locals are detained and exposed to torture leading to death. These crimes manifest a deliberate strategy to evacuate the State of its original inhabitants and resettle Militia elements and mercenaries, including non-Sudane in the State.

2. Desecrating the IDP camps in Zalingei, Central Darfur, committing horrific crimes that included mass killings based on tribal identity and mass rape, and forcibly displacing IDPs once again from the area.

3. Attacking a number of safe villages around the city of Umm Rawaba, North Kordofan, and committing massacres that killed dozens of civilians.

4. The continuous deliberate shelling of residential and commercial areas in the locality of Karary, Omdurman, such as the strike of the Hara 15 market , which resulted in the killing of 34 civilians.
5. The indiscriminate shelling of the residential area of El-Fashir City, North Darfur, to force the population out of it, within the same strategy described above.

6. The looting and vandalising of Umm Kadada Hospital in the State of North Darfur, and the theft of all electrical appliances, cars and equipment, which led to the cessation of the Hospital operations. This was preceded by the destruction and looting of hospitals and the university in the city of Nyala, South Darfur.

While the Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomes international condemnations of the Militia's atrocities in West Darfur that were so far issued by the United States,
the United Kingdom, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and UNITAMS, it calls for more stringent measures to confront the Militia’s policy of ethnic cleansing, including forcing those who continue supporting the Militia with weapons and mercenaries, to stop doing so, and consider them as a partner and responsible for the terrorists acts and atrocities committed by the Militia. It also calls on international and regional organizations that are still turning blind eye about these serious terrorist crimes, to determine their position on them, because the failure to condemn the same is tacit approval of those atrocities.