U.S. Says Sudan Guilty of 'Unconscionable' Violence against Civilians

Sudan has carried out "unconscionable" violence including aerial strikes and aggression against civilians in its war-torn regions, the U.S. special envoy to the country charged Thursday.

A senior official from the ruling party in Khartoum disputed the allegation and said the envoy, Donald Booth, was not qualified to make such comments.

"The violence that has been perpetrated against civilians in southern Kordofan, in Blue Nile and in many parts of Darfur is unconscionable," said Booth, the special envoy to Sudan and South Sudan, in a conference call with Africa-based journalists.

"Aerial bombardment, attacks on the ground against civilian populations, attacks on hospitals and schools, these are the things that are of tremendous concern to the United States," he said.

Sudan has battled rebels in its western Darfur region for 11 years, while an insurgency broke out three years ago in the states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile, bordering South Sudan.

The wars have been fueled by grievances among non-Arab groups over neglect and discrimination by the Arab-dominated regime in Khartoum.

Booth said the strains in ties between Washington and Khartoum "has to do with the way that the government has treated the people of Sudan, particularly those in the periphery."

Rabbie Abdelatti Ebaid, a senior official in the ruling National Congress Party, told Agence France Presse that Sudan could not accept Booth's criticism.

"From where he got his information?" Ebaid asked.

The Sudanese Armed Forces exist "to protect civilians and to establish security and safety in all areas, including southern Kordofan."

Booth also said Washington was continuing to discuss with Sudan's government the case of Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, 27, a Christian woman sentenced by a Khartoum-area court to hang for apostasy.

The May 15 verdict has provoked widespread international outrage.

It came under Islamic sharia that outlaws conversions of faith on pain of death, and was accompanied by a penalty of 100 lashes for "adultery."

"We have raised this case at very high levels in the Sudanese government," Booth said.

Rights activists said Ishag is pregnant and married to a Christian. She was raised a Christian by her mother after her Muslim father left the family, the activists say.