The African Union (AU) peacekeeping force in West Darfur has told the United Nations that Arab militias are killing and pillaging in the region without fear of arrest by the Sudanese authorities.
Major Harry Soko, a Malawian officer who briefed the head of the UN refugee agency, said the presence of Sudanese rebel groups in his area had also led to conflict and hundreds of deaths in the past months.
"Arab militias believed to be employed by the [government of Sudan] . . . roam freely in our area of responsibility, threatening and killing anybody against the interests of the government," he told Antonio Guterres, the visiting UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
He said the militias were believed to be behind many crimes, ranging from banditry to rape. An African Union police commander later told the same briefing Sudanese police were not arresting the perpetrators.
The government denies any connection with the militias, known locally as Janjaweed and blamed for many of the attacks on villages inhabited by non-Arab farming communities. It says they are outlaws and that it takes action against them when it can.
Mr Soko said one area where the rebel presence had added to the violence in recent months was around Sirba, about 45 km north of El-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state.
"These areas are no-go areas to AU personnel due to threats by the NRF [the rebel National Redemption Front]," he said.
The NRF is one of the Darfur rebel groups that have refused to sign the peace agreement signed last year by the government and one main rebel group.