Darfur bombed into despair

WASHINGTON - The Sudanese Government has launched a new military assault in southern Darfur, attacking villages and displacing thousands of civilians ahead of a deadline for the conclusion of peace talks, according to a leading human rights group.

The report came as George W. Bush ordered the freezing of assets of anyone deemed to have posed a threat to the peace process or stability in Darfur.

Bush said he was taking the action because "an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States is posed by the persistence of violence in Darfur region, particularly against civilians".

Human Rights Watch said the Sudanese military used planes and helicopter gunships to attack several villages. The New York-based group believes the Sudanese authorities may be trying to consolidate territory before the end of African Union talks to negotiate a peace settlement on Monday in Nigeria.

The HRW report says credible eye-witnesses told how Government forces and allied Arab militias began attacking the village of Joghana - in territory controlled by the rebel Sudan Liberation Army - in the early morning of April 24. Civilians who fled said an Antonov plane and two helicopters were used and that the plane dropped bombs that killed an unknown number of civilians.

"Khartoum's new attacks on civilians show the Security Council needs to move quickly on a UN protection force for Darfur," said Peter Takirambudde, HRW's Africa director. "They also show that the sanctions may not hit hard enough - or high enough - and civilians will continue to pay the price."

This week the UN Security Council passed a resolution placing four Sudanese people involved in the armed conflict on a sanctions list for international travel bans and asset freezes.

The area where the latest wave of violence occurred is about 120km from the South Darfur capital, Nyala, and has long been a flashpoint.

American, British and other Nato forces are stepping up contingency planning for a deployment to Darfur under a UN umbrella.

Condoleeza Rice, the US Secretary of State, has pressed Nato allies at a meeting taking place in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, to take a more robust role in the Sudanese province.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has proposed replacing a largely ineffective African Union force of 7000 with a UN force of 20,000.

The Sudanese Government has rejected the proposal but Nato sources said it is now looking more likely that Khartoum may be persuaded to change its stance by pressure exerted through African Union countries.

The Nato plans include combat helicopters and transport planes for monitors, and sending female police officers to interview rape victims.

In his latest audiotape Osama bin Laden urged his followers to launch a second front against the West in Darfur. But Nato sources said this was not being viewed as an immediate threat.


New genocide

* Long-running conflict in Darfur escalated in 2003 when rebels began attacking Government targets, claiming the region was being neglected by Khartoum.

* Khartoum is accused of arming "Janjaweed" militias drawn mainly from Arab tribes to crush the rebellion.

* It has backed "self-defence militias" but denies links to the Janjaweed which are accused of "cleansing" areas of non-Muslims.

* The Bush Administration described the ensuing conflict as genocide.

* Critics suspect the latest attacks are a Sudanese attempt to secure territory towards the end of peace talks in Nigeria.

* Tens of thousands have been killed and more than two million pushed into refugee camps in Darfur and Chad.

* Osama bin Laden has urged Islamists to travel to Darfur if the UN sends peacekeepers.

- INDEPENDENT, REUTERS