UN's Arbour tells Sudan to protect Darfur village

GENEVA, July 20 (Reuters) The United Nations human rights chief today called on Sudan to protect a village of 4,500 people in West Darfur where armed men in military uniform have carried out abductions and sexual violence.

Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged the Khartoum government to fulfil its pledge to set up a permanent police presence in the village of Bir Dagig, 30 kms north of el-Geneina, and also investigate the abuses.

''A number of human rights abuses are said to have been committed in the village of Bir Dagig, mostly by armed men in military uniform since the first of July,'' UN human rights spokesman Jose-Luis Diaz told a news briefing.

UN human rights officers sent to the village on July 1 following months of complaints had ''documented forced abductions, beatings and acts of gender-based violence.'' During a second visit on Wednesday, they witnessed armed men surrounding the village centre and demanding money in compensation for the alleged theft of livestock, Diaz said.

A neighbouring Arab community has accused the residents of Bir Dagig of stealing livestock, a charge they deny, he added.

Experts estimate that violence in Darfur since 2003 has killed 200,000 people and driven 2.5 million from their homes. Khartoum, which mobilised militias called Janjaweed to quell the revolt, puts the death toll at 9,000.

Diaz, asked whether the armed men were Janjaweed, replied: ''It is said to be men coming from or on behalf of this neighbouring Arab community. They are said to be in uniforms and armed and to be coming on camels or horseback.'' The Khartoum government initially deployed extra police to the village but withdrew them completely in April, he said. It had also sent senior officials to attempt to resolve the row, pledging to probe both livestock theft and human rights abuses.

''These things have not been done so far ... We're worried that the case is symptomatic of either the inability or the unwillingness of the authorities to protect the civilian population in Darfur,'' Diaz said.

Further violence in the village was also feared, he said.

Sudan agreed last month to a combined UN-African Union peacekeeping force for Darfur. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday told the Security Council to move quickly in authorising up to 26,000 troops and police for the arid region.

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