U.N. chief condemns recent Darfur bombings
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday strongly condemned recent deadly bomb attacks on a school, water installation and market in Sudan's warring Darfur region.
As of Tuesday, around 30 wounded, mostly women and children, were still waiting for help. None had arrived because authorities were denying access and logistical problems, according to witnesses and aid sources.
The attack on Sunday in North Darfur killed 12 people. Two aid organizations said the Sudanese government had carried out the attack, but Khartoum did not comment.
Marie Okabe, a spokeswoman for U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, said Ban "strongly deplores these acts, which targeted civilian areas, including locations where children congregate."
Ban also expressed concern about "increasing acts of banditry which complicate humanitarian operations and impede UNAMID's (the U.N. mission in Darfur) ability to carry out its mandate," Okabe said.
Ban called on rebels and the government to stop fighting and commit themselves to finding a political solution.
U.N. officials say 300,000 people may have died in five years of revolt in Darfur. Another 2.5 million have been made homeless by the violence, which Washington calls genocide.
Khartoum rejects that term and blames Western media for exaggerating the conflict in which it says only around 10,000 people have died.
(Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Alan Elsner)
