Andrew Meldrum in today's Guardian:
Government-backed militias in Sudan are still attacking civilians and are "routinely" raping women and girls in the Darfur region of the country, human rights groups said yesterday.
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"America and Europe have aims that do not include the safety and comfort of people in Darfur," [Sudanese president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir] said in an interview published in Lebanon's al-Mustaqbal yesterday. He said Sudan was the victim of a media campaign aimed at diverting attention from violence in Iraq."Yes, there is killing, displacement and migration, but is the Darfur issue the only issue in the world? What about Palestine and Iraq?" Mr Bashir asked. [Taking both the mickey and the biscuit, surely - NG.]
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"Nothing said by the government of Sudan should be believed. They are serial liars," Peter Takirambudde, the Africa director of Human Rights Watch, told the Guardian yesterday. "What we see on the ground is what we are reporting. Violent atrocities against civilians are continuing. It is irrefutable. Our team on the ground is witnessing it. The government is denying it to try to avoid international intervention."The US-based organisation said yesterday that Sudanese armed forces and the Janjaweed militias in Darfur continue to attack men, rape women and steal livestock with impunity.