Stop The Massacres And Humanitarian Disaster In Western Sudan
 
Is it not time to stop the mounting atrocities committed by the 
Sudanese 
government forces and its allies in the Arab militias or Janjaweed 
against 
indigenous African populations in western Sudan?  Despite protests by 
human 
rights organizations and recent concerns expressed by the American 
State 
Department, the killings, massacres and evictions continue to mount.
 
Last Friday, December 12th, 50 villages around Beida and Arara towns 
were 
completely destroyed in one of the biggest recent atrocities. Hundreds 
of 
Massaleit civilians were killed, and more than 20,000 people were 
forced to 
flee into neighbouring Chad. Thousands of others fled into Beida, 
Arara and 
Mesteri towns, seeking refuge in population centres within the region. 
Some 
of those who took shelter in Arara were killed within the town by 
their 
pursuing attackers. This massacre was the work of a joint force of the 
Janjaweed and government soldiers.
 
In Chad, the refugees of the carnage found their way to Um-Saterna, 
about 
50 kilometres from Beida. The situation of these refugees is dire. 
They 
have no clothes to protect themselves from the biting nighttime winter 
temperatures. Also, they lack basic life sustaining supplies, 
particularly 
food and clean water. Moreover, they lack medicines to treat the 
injured 
and the sick. Malaria, typhoid and Anaemia are a constant threat. The 
plight of these refugees is compounded by the fact that their 
attackers are 
nearby and could attack anytime. The Janjaweed attack their victims 
across 
the international border with impunity.
 
Those forced into Beida, Arara and Mesteri are also in an appalling 
situation. The injured that were able to reach Geneina and those in 
other 
hospitals hardily receive any care, mainly because of neglect by the 
doctors supposed to care for them. The Sudanese government has 
replaced 
most of the doctors and staff serving in hospitals in western Sudan 
with 
loyalists, who have little regard for medical ethics.
 
We estimate that more than 80 percent of Massaleit have been forced 
out of 
their homes. Similarly, Fur, Zaghawa and other indigenous African 
peoples 
in western Sudan have been targeted for ethnic cleansing by the 
Janjaweed 
and Sudanese government forces. We appeal to the international 
community to 
come to the rescue of the persecuted people of western Sudan before it 
is 
too late. The United Nations and the international community should do 
all 
that they can to prevent the repeat of a genocide on the scale of 
Rwanda in 
this neglected corner of Africa.
 
Mr. Mohamed Adam Yahya,
Chairman and Spokesman,
The Representatives of the Massaleit Community in Exile (RMCE)
USA.
Telephone: (434) 409 9638
Email: Kamasarakendy@hotmail.com or Massaleitcommunity@yahoo.com
December 19th, 2003.
Visit the Massaleit Community Web site for previous reports on human 
rights 
abuses in western Sudan http://www.massaleit.info/ (use MS Internet 
Explorer)