Straw condemns Sudanese bombing
The British government have condemned the bombing by the Sudanese air force of a village in northern Darfur.
About 100 people were killed in the attack at Shangel-Topayi, near Al-Fashir, according to aid groups working in the African nation.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the act was completely reprehensible and was to be condemned.
“It defies the obligations which have been placed upon the government by the UN Security Council, and breaks the commitments which the government themselves have made in the African Union-led peace talks on Darfur,” he said.
Mr Straw said he would be taking up the issue at the UN headquarters in New York.
“The international community cannot look away at this point,” he said.
“I have asked our permanent representative to raise this action – and those of the rebels – in the security council.”
Jean Baptiste Natama, political officer for the African Union (AU), said a probe had been launched into the claims.
He described the air raid as “the most serious attack in recent months”.
AU leaders meet on January 30th and 31st in Abuja, Nigeria. Representatives from the G8, EU and British government are expected to attend.
The UN is considering the deployment of 10,000 international troops to southern Sudan within the next six months as part of the peace deal in the war-torn African nation.
It is also leading a campaign to end the civil war in the western region of Darfur, which has claimed the lives of 70,000 people and left two million homeless in the past two years.
