Juba: Sudanese government forces and militias
are "killing and raping civilians in Blue Nile state" as they
flee violence and bombing, a human rights watchdog said on Tuesday.
The Enough Project, a group backed by Hollywood star
George Clooney, repeated calls for further investigation into
alleged atrocities and for humanitarian access to the southern
state where conflict has raged since September.
While many flee across the border for fear of Antonov
bombers, "some Blue Nile residents also reported that
government forces were targeting, killing, and raping
civilians," it said in a statement.
The report came after members of the group visited the
Sherkole refugee camp in Ethiopia, which almost 29,000 people
have fled to, and the town of Kurmuk which straddles the
border with Sudan.
"Soldiers with small arms were chasing the civilians," the
group quoted one refugee from the town of Um Darfa as saying.
"They were supported by the Fellata (an ethnic group in
Blue Nile), who captured some of the civilians and slaughtered
people," including women and children, said the refugee.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, November 01, 2011, 22:13