Sudanese Army Discredits Darfur Rape Charges By U.N.

Khartoum, Sudan (AHN) - The Sudan's army on Saturday criticized the United Nations' report accusing the military along with Arab insurgents of raiding towns and raping girls and women during attacks in western Darfur.

The looting was conducted with the help of aircraft accompanied by ground offensives by militia and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in Sirba, Silea and Abu Suruj on Feb. 8, leaving more than 115 people dead.

"Consistent information gathered by UNAMID Human Rights Officers (HROs) indicated that these actions violated the principle of distinction stated in international humanitarian law, failing to distinguish between civilian objects and military objectives," the U.N. report said, according to USA Today.

The report added: "Moreover, the scale of destruction of civilian property, including objects indispensable for the survival of the civilian population, suggests that the damage was a deliberate and integral part of a military strategy."

However, the Sudanese military denied all the charges stated in the report issued by the Human Rights and the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (Unamid), on Thursday.

The army instead blamed the militias for the attacks on the civilians in the three Darfur towns.

"The army, discharging its duty ... regarding the prevalence of security and protection of civilian lives, would go after rebels and bandit groups all over the country," Brig. Gen. Osman Mohamed al-Aghbash, the Sudanese army spokesman, was quoted as saying by Sudan's official news agency SUNA.

The attacks, which were termed as "major military campaign" in the report, forced more than 30,000 people to flee their homes.

So far more than 200,000 have died and around two million civilians have been displaced in Darfur following the takeover by militia attacks since 2003, the BBC New reported