United Nations Radio

United Nations human rights observers deployed in the troubled Darfur region of Sudan say human rights abuses continued in the region last month.

The monitors say sexual violence and rape continued to be reported in all the three regions of Darfur. The spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Jose Diaz, says this is contributing to a sense of insecurity among women and girls, who are afraid to leave the camps for displaced people in certain areas:

"Armed Janjaweed and members of the PDF or Popular Defence Forces, which is a parallel force established by the government, continue to roam areas throughout Darfur, contributing to this sense of insecurity among IDPs."

Mr. Diaz says that there were also reports of abduction of civilians by the Sudan Liberation Army, one of the opposition groups in West Darfur.