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Sunday, January 15, 2006The three villages, chosen to represent the ethnic and geographic diversity of Darfur, were far from one another and attacked at different times. Yet, eyewitness accounts of the assaults were strikingly similar: early morning attacks by armed men on horseback or in pick-up trucks, backed up by Sudanese military aircraft. The attackers killed and raped villagers, and then looted and burned houses and shops, poisoned wells, stole livestock and torched prime farmland. The majority of people PHR interviewed reported the collective loss of thousands of camels, cattle, donkeys, sheep and goats, as well as thousands of sacks of sorghum, millet, ground nuts and other food stocks; the torching of scores of acres of prime farmland and looting of virtually all personal possessions, including mattresses, rugs, clothing, radios, and Korans. With wells poisoned, homes and shops burned to the ground and attackers often in hot pursuit of their victims, survivors fled into the harsh desert. Many wandered through the bleak landscape for weeks or months. They escaped death by eating wild foods growing in the desert and eventually found their way to outside assistance. Others were not so lucky. PHR found that many households experienced a substantial drop in size due to death and separation while seeking refuge. The average household size in all three villages before the attacks was 12.1 people, while after the attacks, the average household had shrunk to just 6.7. Out of a total combined population of 558 people in all of the households of respondents, 251 were confirmed killed or missing; of these 141 were confirmed killed. They also have a video. (via Sudan Watch. posted by Sydney on 1/15/2006 05:03:00 PM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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