19 September 2004	Sunday	03 Shaban 1425

CAIRO, Sept 18: Villagers slaughtered, homes torched, girls and women raped - the head of rights group Amnesty International recounted to newsmen some of the horror stories heard on a mission to Sudan's war-torn Darfur region.

Amnesty secretary general Irene Khan, who visited Darfur to witness first hand the situation in the region where the United States says genocide is being waged by pro-government Arab militias, said no-one feels safe.

Khan said she was particularly alarmed by reports of continuing violence against women, especially rape, and other abuses of people forced by a 19-month conflict to flee from their homes in Darfur.

Sudanese security forces in Darfur claim they have no orders to disarm the militias blamed for atrocities in the region despite mounting international pressure on Khartoum, she said.

"The armed militia are still very much there," said Khan, whose Amnesty team wrapped up a four-day tour of the three states of Darfur on Saturday, ahead of a UN Security Council vote on the crisis.

An estimated 50,000 people have died and 1.4 million more have been displaced in Darfur, where UN officials say Arab militias have carried out a scorched-earth campaign of ethnic cleansing against black residents.

The government of Sudan is under international pressure to rein in the militias and stop the killing, which the United Nations says has triggered the world's worst current humanitarian crisis.

In Sisi, a camp for displaced persons outside Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state, Amnesty said it had learnt of 76 rape cases between February and September, nine of which resulted in pregnancies.

Most victims of rape are afraid to tell their stories, ensuring that the majority of the cases go unreported.

"It's difficult for women here to admit rape," Khan said by telephone from Geneina.

Khan and her team met a young girl who said she was gang-raped by five men. She told Amnesty she reported the incident to the police and told them she recognised her attackers, but they ignored her. "The police did not do anything."

"Now she's pregnant," said Khan.

Despite claims by the government in Khartoum that security conditions were improving for people displaced from their homes by the 19-month conflict, the majority still feel vulnerable, Khan said.

The Sudanese government has in recent months deployed thousands of police in Darfur, but according to Amnesty, the people have no confidence in the police and blame them for some of their problems.

"The government has put in extra police, but the people do not trust the authorities. They feel that the authorities have failed them," said Khan.-AFP