Darfur camp clearances 'illegal'

The government want to move inhabitants out of camps near towns

The forcible relocation in Sudan of more than 30,000 refugees from camps by security forces in Darfur was a breach of international law, the UN says.

Women in camps near Nyala say they were raped and threatened with more violence if they did not move on.

The US secretary of state said he disapproved of last week's operation, being investigated by the UN.

Some 1.6 million people have fled their homes during the conflict. A UN team is in Sudan probing genocide allegations.

Pro-government Janjaweed militias are accused of driving the region's black Africans from their villages, since two rebel groups began an uprising in February 2003.

Sexual violence

"We are not pleased with the events of recent days, " US Secretary of State Colin Powell said about the forced relocation operation.

In pictures: Camp evictees

UN envoy to Sudan Jan Pronk said there was clear evidence of a criminal act at the camp near Nyala from where the refugees were violently removed by armed security forces in the early hours of the morning.

"We were told if we did not leave here that we would be attacked again and raped again until we did leave," one woman who was raped by policemen during the camp raid told the BBC.

Mr Pronk said the UN was trying to find out whether the operation had been authorised by the government in Khartoum or whether it had been ordered by over-zealous local officials.

The BBC's Fergal Keane in Nyala says one reason the government wants to move the people is because it fears camps close to towns may become infiltrated by rebels.

"If they took the decision in Khartoum then they are not only stupid, but they're dumb," Mr Pronk told the BBC.

No-go areas

Last week, the government in Khartoum defended the relocation, saying conditions in the camp were not good enough.

Aid agencies have said clashes between government and rebels are preventing the distribution of food to nearly 200,000 refugees.

Large pockets of Darfur are now "no-go" areas beyond the reach of the UN, the World Food Programme says.

Mr Powell said he was worried that a 3,000-strong African Union (AU) force to be deployed in Sudan by the end of November is not being moved in fast enough, Reuters reports.

Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts by the AU in the Nigerian capital, Abuja are continuing to try and find a peaceful solution to the crisis.

Sudan's Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail told the BBC he was hopeful that within the next 24 hours, the government and the rebel groups will sign agreements.

But the AU's chief mediator Ahmad Allam-Mi told the AFP news agency that at least three or four days of talks are probably needed to reach a deal.

The issue of a no-fly zone over Darfur, with which the Sudanese government takes issue, has stalled the talks over the past two weeks.

The Security Council, is due to meet in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi on 17-18 November, to discuss Darfur.