|
Hundreds Flee Darfur After Attack |
|
|
|
|
AP - Fri, 1 Jun 2007 11:12:34 -0400 (EDT)
By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER
Hundreds of women and children fled by foot and on donkeys from Darfur to the neighboring Central African Republic after their town was attacked by planes and helicopters, the U.N. refugee agency said Friday.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees was rushing aid to the 1,500 refugees who made the grueling 125-mile journey over 10 days, said spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis.
The refugees told U.N. officials their town of Dafak, in southern Darfur, was attacked repeatedly by janjaweed militia from May 12 to May 18 and that their homes had been bombarded by airstrikes, Pagonis said.
"There were more air attacks even as they were fleeing," the refugees
told UNHCR monitors, according to Pagonis. "Refugees said they will not
return to Darfur before basic safety ... can be guaranteed. Many of
them expressed fear of further attacks."
The U.N. and African Union peacekeepers regularly report the Sudanese
air force bombs Darfur villagers and rebel positions, despite a U.N.
resolution forbidding such attacks. Aid and humanitarian workers, as
well as Darfur survivors, have said the air attacks are often in
preparation for raids by pro-government janjaweed militiamen that
follow shortly after the bombings. ...
[Full text here]
|
Perspectivas / Perspectives 
