By KUNA
United Nations : Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon late Saturday condemned in the strongest terms Friday’s attacks on the towns of Abu Suruj, Sirba, and Seleia in West Darfur, reportedly by Janjaweed militia supported by the Sudanese armed forces, his press office said in a statement.
The UN-AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) said it received preliminary reports confirming that an estimated 200 casualties have resulted from the fighting, and that the town of Abu Suruj, home to thousands of civilians, has been burned to the ground. The attack in Seleia is reported to have included air strikes from Government forces.
“The Secretary-General condemns these attacks on civilian towns in the strongest possible terms and stresses that all parties must adhere to international humanitarian law, which prohibits military attacks against civilians,” the statement said.
Ban called on all parties to “urgently cease hostilities, and commit to the political process” being led by UN Special Envoy Jan Eliasson and African Union (AU) envoy Salim Ahmad salim of Tanzania.
Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch also said in a statement distributed here that “the Sudanese government is once again showing its total disregard for the safety of civilians.
This return to large-scale attacks “will be catastrophic for Darfur’s civilians, because they’re completely unprotected.” The statement said the attacks were carried out by Janjaweed militia and Sudanese ground troops, supported by attack helicopters and aerial bombardments.