UN warns of 'atrocities' in Sudan

By Grant Ferret
BBC correspondent in Farchana refugee camp, Chad

The war in Sudan has created a huge refugee problem

The head of the UN refugee agency, Ruud Lubbers, says atrocities are being committed in the western Sudanese region of Darfur.

Mr Lubbers was speaking during a visit to a refugee camp in Chad which has become home to some of the 130,000 Sudanese who fled their homes over the past year.

In sweltering heat, the 2,000 people at Farchana refugee camp greeted Mr Lubbers with a rousing chorus of "Down, down, Al-Bashir!" - a reference to the Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir.

They believe the government of Sudan supports the militia which has killed their relatives, looted their belongings and destroyed their homes.

They are unanimous in their approval of the camp, which is well away from the Sudanese border, an area which is subject to daily raids by the militia.

Violence continues

In spite of the denials by the government of Sudan that the violence is still going on in Darfur, Mr Lubbers was in no doubt.

"In a way, it's strange because it's peace here - you don't hear the noises of fighting - but there in Darfur just to the other side of the border, where we hear about more and more incidents," he said.

"The violence is not over - it's continuing. This is not peace - this is atrocities."

The head of the UNHCR said any peace agreement between the Sudanese Government and rebels in the south of the country should not be made at the expense of the people of Darfur in the west.

But there is no sign that the region will be included in any peace deal, and for now, the number of refugees crossing into Chad continues to grow by the day.

Unless the UN can move more of them further away from the border, the vast majority will continue to live in fear of further attacks by the Sudanese militia.