afrol News, 24 October - Amnesty International (AI) today called on the Chadian government to deploy immediately along the border with Sudan to protect civilians from Janjaweed militia attacks taking place in eastern Chad. UN reports confirm the increasing violence against civilians by Chadian rebels and the Darfur-based Janjaweed militias.

"Again civilians are being targeted by Janjaweed, again the Chadian army is failing to protect them and the international community has not even begun to implement the Chad components of a UN Security Council resolution passed six weeks ago," said a statement signed by Kate Gilmore, Amnesty's deputy secretary general.

"These attacks against civilians in Chad show us yet again how urgent the need is for an immediate deployment of UN peacekeepers in Sudan not only to stop attacks against people in Darfur but also to stop cross-border attacks into Chad," added Ms Gilmore.

Amnesty therefore called for the establishment of a UN presence in key locations in Chad and the deployment of UN forces in Darfur to monitor trans-border activities of armed groups along the Sudanese border, as called for by UN Security Council Resolution 1706, adopted on 31 August.

A new wave of attacks across the Chad-Sudan border started on 3 October and have continued since then. The attacks have left dozens of people killed and some 3,000 have fled their homes in the past week.

A UNHCR camp housing 3, 500 Chadians displaced in Habile is said to have reached its maximum capacity and there are further attacks expected.

Over the last ten days, close to a dozen villages in eastern Chad have been attacked, with at least forty people killed - including an imam and his four sons in Tamadjour on 15 October. In one attack in Marmadingue in Koloy canton, men on horseback attacked villagers working in their fields, killing 22 men and one woman.

Fleeing villagers described the attackers as Janjaweed, wearing Sudanese army uniforms. The Janjaweed reportedly receive aid and arms from the Khartoum government.

As this is the period of harvest, many displaced are venturing back to their villages to attempt to harvest their crops - leaving them vulnerable to further attacks.

"We warned that these attacks were likely to resume once the rainy season ended, and now they have started, as we predicted," said Ms Gilmore. "These attacks could have been avoided if the Chadian government and the international community had listened to earlier warnings and acted in advance to protect civilians in eastern Chad."

"The Chadian government now needs to ensure that its army patrols the area and monitors the border closely to stop further attacks."

By staff writer

© afrol News

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