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| Africa: Horn |
| 100 women raped and murdered in Janjaweed attack |
| 2004-03-19 |
| More than 100 women have been raped in a single attack carried out by Arab militias in Darfur in western Sudan. Speaking to the BBC, the United Nations co-ordinator for Sudan, Mukesh Kapila, said the conflict had created the worst humanitarian situation in the world. He said more than one million people were affected by "ethnic cleansing." He said the fighting was characterised by a scorched-earth policy and was comparable in character, if not in scale, to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. "It is more than just a conflict. It is an organised attempt to do away with a group of people," he said. Mr Kapila said 75 people were killed in the attack on the village of Tawila at sunrise by Arab militiamen two weeks ago. "All houses as well as a market and a health centre were completely looted and the market burnt. Over 100 women were raped, six in front of their fathers who were later killed," he said. A further 150 women and 200 children were abducted. This attack a fortnight ago is one of many across the arid territory. Village after village is being razed to the ground by the militias, he said. To compound the problem, aid agencies can only reach small parts of Darfur and are subject to attacks. Mr Kapila called for more aid and for urgent international intervention to bring about a ceasefire in the war. "I was present in Rwanda at the time of the genocide, and I've seen many other situations around the world and I am totally shocked at what is going on in Darfur," he told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "This is ethnic cleansing, this is the world's greatest humanitarian crisis, and I don't know why the world isn't doing more about it." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #4 Thanks for the info. But isn't it true that the African Moslems are being emboldened by the actions of their "brothers" in Al-Quackhead and so forth, and are on a rampage that's not actually based on ancient tribal pay-backs? Just wondering. |
| Posted by: ex-lib 2004-3-19 4:52:16 PM |
| #3 ex-lib: Frankly because African problems are really, really hard to deal with in any meaningful way. African tribes have been murdering each other off for thousands of years. In some areas of the continent colonialism temporarily put an end to this never ending cycle of genocide, while in others it only accelerated the process. Modern medicine and agriculture has caused the population of Africa to boom in spite of this violence and the presence of AIDS. The number of victims has grown accordingly. The boarders of African nations have been largely drawn up by western colonial powers who no longer want to deal with the problems created by their ancestors, such as Belgium, France, Germany, and Portugal. The English Commonwealth system has a slightly better track record and the United State's only historical creation is Liberia, proving once and for all that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. These lines have no real meaning to actual Africans whose politics are based on tribalism, clan loyalty, and occasionally religions such as Sunni Islam or Coptic Christianity. What Africa really needs IMAO is to "devolve" at bit politically away from the nation state so that it can "evolve" its institutions into something that better suits the needs of the people. Decentralized Jeffersonian democracy would be a godsend to the people of Africa.... if you can keep them from chopping each other's heads off with machetes, that is. |
| Posted by: Secret Master 2004-3-19 4:42:01 PM |
| #2 another one from the religion of peace |
| Posted by: Dan 2004-3-19 4:17:01 PM |
| #1 How come we're not? |
| Posted by: ex-lib 2004-3-19 3:32:08 PM |