15 Arrested in Sudan for Alleged Darfur Abuses

For the first time, Sudan has arrested military and security personnel accused of killing and raping civilians and burning villages in Darfur, the justice minister said Monday.

Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin told reporters a government committee had arrested 15 members of the police, military and security forces over human rights abuses in the western region and said they would immediately be sent to court.

“They are military people ... from [the] army, military and security,” Yassin said. They were accused of crimes including “rape, killing, burning and other things -- different kinds of atrocities,” he said.

Washington reacted dismissively, saying Khartoum had repeatedly failed to hold people accountable for the violence in Darfur. A United Nations commission has accused the Sudanese government of complicity in the attacks.

The U.N. Security Council is expected to vote Wednesday on a resolution that would send those accused of war crimes in Darfur to the International Criminal Court. Sudan rejects the idea of referring any of its nationals to a foreign court, saying its judicial system is competent.

“Now it is high time for us to prove ourselves and to prove how genuine we are and how seriously the Sudanese judiciary can do the job,” Yassin said. “This is a start.”