The government of Sudan and its Arab proxy militia have responded to the rebels with a "reign of terror" of massive human rights violations which "may constitute war crimes and/or crimes against humanity," according to a new UN report released Saturday.  

The Acting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Bertrand Ramcharan, briefed the Security Council behind closed doors on the report, which was based on the work of a fact-finding team he sent last month to settlements in eastern Chad housing about 110,000 Sudanese refugees and then into strife-torn Darfur in western Sudan.

The report said the government of Sudan should "unequivocally condemn all actions and crimes committed by the Janjaweed (militia) and ensure that all militia are immediately disarmed and disbanded."

In addition, Sudan should pursue a policy of reconciliation for Darfur, end impunity, promote the rule of non-discriminatory law and actively promote development programs there, it said.

According to the report, many senior officials acknowledged that in an effort to fight rebel guerrillas with their own guerrillas, the government had recruited, armed, supported and sponsored a loose collection of fighters of apparent Arab background now known as the Janjaweed, or sometimes the Fursan or the Peshmerga.

"The Fursan said they were all Arabs and that they had been armed and paid by the government. They said they acted upon government instructions," the report said.

The Sudanese military and Janjaweed militia attacks on Sudan's Fur, Zaghawa and Masaalit civilians include killing, rape, pillage, including of livestock, and destruction of property, including water sources; and there has been massive, often forced, displacement, the report said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2004)