Bishop says 'no question' violence in Darfur is ethnic cleansing

Published: 2004-08-16

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The chairman of the U.S. bishops' international policy committee said there was "no question" that the killings in the Darfur region of Sudan represented ethnic cleansing. Bishop John H. Ricard of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Fla., told Catholic News Service that the Sudanese government is engaged in a policy to Arabize and Islamize the population. "This clearly is an example of ethnic cleansing, no question," he said. Bishop Ricard, who met with displaced persons in Darfur during an Aug. 1-5 visit to Sudan, said a small contingent of African Union troops that arrived in Darfur in mid-August will do little to protect civilians from further violence. "The issue of persecution of these people is very real. They are still under attack by the Janjaweed militia or the government forces themselves," the bishop said. "It's still very unsafe for them to return home," he said. The bishop told CNS in a telephone interview Aug. 16 that refugees have reported being attacked by government aircraft once they return to their homes, so they are forced to flee again. "Many of these people will surely die -- children, old people -- because they have nothing to go to; they have no protection," he said.

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