Sudan rejects UN call for 'impartial' force to protect civilians 

FILE - Residents displaced from a surge of violent attacks squat on blankets and in hastily made tents in the village of Masteri in west Darfur, Sudan, July 30, 2020.

Sudan has rejected a call by U.N. experts for the deployment of an "independent and impartial force" to protect millions of civilians driven from their homes by more than a year of war. The conflict since April last year, pitting the army against paramilitary forces, has killed tens of thousands of people and triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. The independent U.N. experts said Friday their fact-finding mission had uncovered "harrowing" violations by both sides, "which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity." They called for "an independent and impartial force with a mandate to safeguard civilians" to be deployed "without delay."