West Darfur Town Shattered

(15 Feb 08 - RV) 200 people, mostly elderly men and women protecting babies, are all that is left of the West Darfur town of Suleia's original 25,000 population after an afternoon attack by Arab militia and the Sudanese army.

News of the attack, which also left an ICRC worker dead, has only just reached the outside world, even thought it took place last weekend.

Suleia was targeted as part of an army offensive on three towns to retake them from the Darfur rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

The offensive was the largest in many months in Darfur and aid agencies say it has affected 50,000-60,000 people.

Emer Mccarthy spoke to ICRC West African Spokesman, Martal Izard...