Darfur exiles tell of suffering

Demonstrators rallied under the slogan "Time is up... protect Darfur"

The two-metre high hourglass above them poured fake blood, but London-based refugees from the conflict in Darfur say they have already seen more than enough spilled for real.

In a demonstration in London's Whitehall, opposite the Prime Minister's residence at Downing Street, they told their own personal account of a human tragedy that has claimed an estimated 200,000 lives.

And they are unanimous in their demand - that the international community steps in to end the fighting.

'Wake up'

Abdo Yahya Abdullah, 24, said he saw his seven-month pregnant wife killed when his village, Terbiba in western Darfur, was attacked by pro-government Arab Janjaweed militias.

The worst thing they did was separate me from my family Mustafa Day Protest calls for action Protest in pictures

Separated from the rest of his family, he said he was forced to give people-smugglers everything he owned in return for getting him out of the country.

"I think constantly about my family - I don't know whether they are alive, or dead, or in a refugee camp," he said.

"I didn't want to leave - I wanted to look for them. But I was warned that the Janjaweed would try to kill me.

"Now I just want people to wake up to what is going on so that maybe one day I can find out where they are."

'Took notice'

Mustafa Day, 24, also does not know if his loved ones were alive or dead.

His village was ransacked and he spoke of being imprisoned and tortured after student union criticisms of the government.

He said of his captors: "They gave me electric shocks, denied me sleep, denied me food.

"But the worst thing they did was separate me from my family. I think they are now in a refugee camp but I can't be sure.

"I sometimes wish I hadn't fled - that I'd stayed and fought. But I hope today I'm fighting for the UN to do something."

Teacher Abdul Abdullah, 30, spent a year in prison - he said the authorities suspected him of associating with opposition groups.

After 1945, everybody said, 'Never again.' But it is happening again Martin Stern World rallies over Darfur

He claimed he was beaten, chained, burned and kept in a dank cell.

"They broke my health but they couldn't break my spirit. I had to tell the rest of the world what was going on," he said.

"It was three years before anyone even took notice of what is happening.

"Now it's about time the international community took action."

Not all of the demonstrators were from Darfur, however.

Martin Stern, 68, survived the Holocaust in Europe after being taken to a concentration camp at the age of five.

He said his own first-hand experiences compelled him to take part in the demonstration.

"After 1945, everybody said, 'Never again.' But it is happening again," he adds.

"We shouldn't have tolerated genocide then and we shouldn't tolerate it now.

"We need to make our politicians act if history is to stop repeating itself."