Amnesty, HRW Warn UN Against Sudan Pullout

Amnesty and Human Rights Watch have warned UN peacekeepers against withdrawing from Sudan at a time when the Janjaweed militia is not only keeping up war crimes in Darfur but also taking its “despicable brutality” to Khartoum.

“It’s hard to imagine a worse time to decide to close UNAMID,” the United Nations? African Union Mission in Darfur, said Jonathan Loeb, a senior crisis adviser at Amnesty International.

As a June 27 vote on whether to wind down UNAMID nears, Amnesty said it had “new evidence, including satellite imagery, showing that Sudanese government forces, including the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias, have continued to commit war crimes… in Darfur”.

“These have included the complete or partial destruction of at least 45 villages, unlawful killings, and sexual violence,” the rights group said in a statement issued Tuesday.