Initial Reports of Attack on Conga-Haraza

February 21, 2006

Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy has learned of an attack last week in the town of Conga-Haraza Town in Western Darfur. Few details are presently known since the Sudanese government has disrupted communications with the region by shutting down the telephone lines and wireless networks.

To explain the disorder, the government has accused Chad of attacking Sudanese territory, but this would not explain why communications have been stifled throughout the region. Ominously, the government appears to be currently engaged in the same obfuscating tactics it has earlier employed to cover up Janjaweed atrocities. First, the government cuts communication lines in the region to isolate Darfurians and to hide their suffering from the outside world. Second, the government blames the attacks on others in order to distract observers from the support it provides to the domestic militias presently persecuting Sudanese citizens.

The Damanga Coalition is taking active steps to gather information to identify the victims and the perpetrators involved in last weeks attack. Please check back for updates, as we will report the details of the incident as we receive accounts from eyewitnesses.