The former head of the United Nations 2003 mission in Sudan has stated that aerial and ground attacks by Sudan's government forces in a border conflict with rebels may amount to war crimes.
Mukesh Kapila, who took a 10-day tour of the South Kordofan and and Blue Nile area, told Reuters,
His comments were dismissed by senior member of the ruling National Congress Party in Sudan, Rabie Abdelatie, who said they were "completely incorrect" and "the government's responsibility is to protect civilians".
Mukesh Kapila, who took a 10-day tour of the South Kordofan and and Blue Nile area, told Reuters,
"What's happened over the last two odd years ... is basically exactly the same tactics as Darfur except in the interim period the technology of war has improved"Kapila currently works as a special representative for the genocide prevention capaign group, Aegis Trust.
"This is the world's biggest human rights disaster... The tactics they are using point towards war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed with the circumstantial evidence that it is quite strongly ethnically based."
"There's more than enough prima facie evidence that a properly constituted inquiry should determine the nature of these crimes, and I can't understand why that's not happening".
His comments were dismissed by senior member of the ruling National Congress Party in Sudan, Rabie Abdelatie, who said they were "completely incorrect" and "the government's responsibility is to protect civilians".