Sudan soldier ordered to kill children

A Sudanese army deserter has told how he and fellow solders gathered for an early morning raid were ordered: "don't leave anybody alive.”If we leave these people here they will support the rebels against the government. The area must be emptied so the rebels can't find any help and have to leave the country, Kajabier, was told.

Speaking the day the International criminal court issued warrant for Sudan’s President alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity, describes the scene before Sudanese army troops stormed a village in southern Darfur, Sudan, in April 2003. Kajabier, told the Guardian newspaper, the colonel’s precise commands as the 400 troops left their vehicles. "Rape the women, kill the children. Leave nothing," they were ordered, the 34 year old told the newspaper. Six years later Kajabier, not his real name, has now fled Sudan, and decided to speak out against the Sudanese government."My people are suffering, and I want the world to respond," he said, speaking through an interpreter.

After the April attacks, Kajabier refused to take part in any more raids. He said he was tortured."We wanted to desert because we were being ordered to kill our own people," the former Sudanese soldier said.In the interview, Kajabier made it clear that Sudanese armed forces committed the atrocities, as well as the Arab militia known as the Janjaweed, or devils on horseback.Kajabier, an African from Darfur who was conscripted into the Sudanese army, said he took part in attacks on several villages in April 2003. How many people were killed and raped, he could not say, but said the biggest village consisted of 500 homes. "We would surround the villages and the Janjaweed would follow behind on camels and horseback and chase those who managed to slip through the army cordon," Kajabier said. "We started burning the huts one by one and started shooting. Very few people got away."

Kajabier, who still has nightmares, says the worst images are those of children being raped."That will always stay with me," said Kajabier, who also described how his fellow soldiers were forced to commit rape. After what he has witnessed, he fully supports moves by the international criminal court to arrest Bashir.

An estimated 200,000 people have died and 2.7 million have been forced from their homes since fighting erupted between government troops and rebel forces in Darfur in 2003.Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, is the first sitting head of state to face accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Darfur.

By Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children