Sudan Admits Abuses, Rape By Its Allies In Darfur

The Sudanese government has acknowledged for the first time that its militia allies in Darfur have committed serious human rights abuses, including rape, and given the United Nations a list of 30 suspects, Khartoum dailies said Sunday.

The list was handed over to the UN Human Rights Commission's international observer, Emanuel Akoy, by Justice Minister Ali Mohammed Osman Yassin, the papers said.

Rape was among an array of accusations leveled against the 30, despite long-standing denials by Sudanese officials of rights watchdog Amnesty International's accusations that rape was being used systematically as a weapon in the suppression of the 18-month-old armed rebellion by ethnic minorities in Darfur.

"The government does not deny that human rights abuses occur and it will not protect those who commit them," Ali Mohammed Osman Yassin admitted on Sunday.

He called for "help from international observers and voluntary organizations" and asked them to "pass on any information they have, particularly concerning rapes," to the authorities.

Penalties against named militia commanders were among possible sanctions against Sudan canvassed by Washington at the United Nations last month before the Security Council decided to give Khartoum until Aug. 29 to take action on disarming the Janjaweed militia or face unspecified "measures."

The list is designed to placate the UN Security Council, which will consider the situation in Darfur from Aug. 30, the day after the ultimatum expires.

The Janjaweed are pro-government Arab militia, accused by the UN and humanitarian organizations of forcing black African Sudanese off their land.

UN chief envoy to Sudan, Jan Pronk, has to present a preliminary report on Darfur to the Security Council on Tuesday, Sudanese sources say.

Among those on the list of suspects are two former policemen believed to have been involved in the torching of a village and who were sacked and imprisoned in Nyala, in South Darfur State and two reservist soldiers from the Popular Defense Forces, accused of raping two women refugees.

On Friday, UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) director of Sudan operations, Jean-Marie Fakhouri, said most of the displaced people in the Masteri camp near the Chad border, who fled attacks on their own villages, were still prey to the depredations of the state-sponsored Arab militias.

In July, Amnesty International accused Khartoum of crimes against humanity and expressed concern particularly about wide-scale rape and other forms of sexual violence against women, including kidnapping, sexual slavery and torture.

The government has constantly denied this and has organized demonstrations by women, particularly in Darfur itself, to denounce these "false accusations" against Sudan.

Meanwhile, delegates began arriving in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Sunday on the eve of African Union (AU)-sponsored talks on the conflict in Darfur, AFP reporters saw.

Delegations from both of the armed groups behind Darfur's 18-month old rebellion - the Movement for Justice and Equality and the Sudan Liberation Movement - met each other in the lobby of a luxury hotel in the city.

Sudanese embassy diplomats at another nearby hotel said they were expecting a team from their government to arrive "in the coming hours." Khartoum's delegation is to be led by Agriculture Minister Majzoub al-Khalifa.

Libya's Foreign Minister Abdelrahman Shalgam flew into the city, according to airport sources, an arrival which apparently confirmed reports from officials that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi would not himself be coming.

The Arab League's Secretary General Amr Mussa had earlier left Cairo bound for the talks.

The one-day talks, dubbed the "Inter-Sudanese Peace Talks on the Darfur Crisis" in AU conference literature, are to be hosted by Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo, the current chairman of the African Union.

Compiled by Daily Star staff