Gripping a pair of pliers, a doctor pried a
bullet from Amina Kharim's swollen and bleeding left arm. Eight hours
earlier, at dawn Tuesday, she had been asleep in a shelter of grass and
sticks when government soldiers and police stormed into this camp of
5,000 in South Darfur. Residents and relief workers said the troops
burned shelters, smashed water pipes, fired tear gas and beat people as
they fled half-asleep from their huts. Within five hours, they said,
the camp was reduced to ashes and about 100 residents were crammed into
the makeshift clinic, seeking first aid for gunshot wounds, burns and
bruises. "I saw the military coming and heard some shots. Then I felt
pain and saw my arm bleeding. Now, my heart is burning with anger,"
said Kharim, 26, gripping her arm to steady it while the doctor worked
in the shade of the mud-and-straw clinic. "There was a lot of blood,
and then they started burning my hut. The world is not doing enough to
protect us. We are so tired. Can someone please come help us?" With
violence still raging in Darfur's 20-month conflict between African
rebels and pro-government forces, aid workers and camp residents said
they feared Tuesday's pre-dawn assault was the beginning of a campaign
to force displaced people back to villages where they could be
vulnerable to further attack by Arab militias known as the Janjaweed. [more]
Annan Urges Security Council to Take Action in Sudan [more]
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