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Last Updated: Thursday, 11 November, 2004, 16:27 GMT
UN pulls some staff from Darfur
A refugee in Darfur looks at damaged homes at the El Geer camp near Nyala
An earlier police action in the camp was criticised by the UN
The United Nations is withdrawing some staff from Nyala in Sudan's Darfur region because authorities are preventing them from doing their work.

They have been confined to the town since trying to stop the forced relocation of refugees, the UNHCR says.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell said a recent raid by security forces on a refugee camp was "unacceptable".

Authorities say the troops were trying to move people to a better camp, but police were seen beating up refugees.

"If we are not going to be allowed to do our work in South Darfur, then UNHCR has no choice but to go elsewhere where the needs are just as great," said Jean-Marie Fakhouri, UNHCR's director of operations in Sudan.

Three international staff, who have been sitting idle for three weeks, would be redeployed to El Geneina in western Darfur, the agency said.

Genocide probe

On Wednesday, police fired tear gas and beat El-Geer camp residents in front of UN and African Union (AU) officials.

Women in El Geer camp tries to rebuild her shack

Sudan's ambassador to London, Hassan Abedin, said force was used only on a small number who were trying to incite resistance to being moved from the camp, which is near Nyala.

"Yes, I would say there were incidents of police... mishandling some individuals, but the idea is to enable the... vast majority of the people in this camp to move to a better camp," he told BBC News.

He denied Khartoum's policy in Darfur constituted genocide, and said the international community should await the outcome of a current UN probe into the allegation before jumping to conclusions.

Bulldozing

UN Special Representative Jan Pronk arrived at El-Geer camp later on Wednesday and visited a medical clinic in the area where the attack took place.

He has been travelling with the country's foreign minister.


Both listened to the testimony of women who were the victims of the assault.

Government officials in the area knew the UN secretary general's representative would shortly arrive at the camp, says the BBC reporter.

In spite of this, government forces staged two assaults on displaced people and would not desist from bulldozing their camp, despite the presence of UN representatives, the AU and international aid agencies.

On Wednesday, Mr Powell said he would pursue the raid with the Sudanese.

"I'm sure it'll be discussed within the (United Nations) Security Council as well," he said.

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

'Breakthrough agreement'

The UN has described the relocation programme as a breach of humanitarian law.

Some 1.6 million people have fled their homes and tens of thousands have lost their lives in the conflict in Darfur.

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.

The raid took place a day after the government and the rebels signed what has been described as a breakthrough agreement aimed at ending the crisis.

Meanwhile, the AU's Said Djinnit is travelling to Darfur to assess the expansion of its military mission.

A 3,000-strong AU force will be deployed in Darfur by the end of November.




BBC NEWS: VIDEO AND AUDIO
Reporter witnesses police attack on refugee camp



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