(Corrects officer's nationality in 2nd paragraph to Malawian from Rwandan, please also correct in earlier story) By Alaa Shahine EL-GENEINA, Sudan, April 25 (Reuters) - The African Union (AU) peacekeeping force in West Darfur told the United Nations on Wednesday that Arab militias were 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 U.N. 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 GOS (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 U.N. 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. Soko said one area where the rebel presence had added to the violence in recent months was around Sirba, about 45 km (30 miles) north of El-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state. "(This has) resulted in the loss of hundreds of lives of Sudanese government personnel, rebels and civilians," he said. "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 which have refused to sign the peace agreement signed last year by the government and one main rebel group. CIVILIANS KILLED The deal has failed to stop the violence in the region, where the United Nations says around 200,000 have died and 2.5 million been displaced since the conflict flared in 2003 when the rebels took up arms against the government, accusing it of neglect. Khartoum says only 9,000 have perished and has rejected world pressure for a force of some 20,000 U.N. peacekeepers to support the under-funded 5,000-strong AU mission. Soko said the NRF was suspected to be behind an attack in Sirba on Dec. 9 that killed scores of civilians. He showed pictures on a power-point presentation of a dead man with a bloodied face, wounded people and a burnt truck. The United Nations has said the attack in Sirba was carried out by gunmen on horseback, an apparent reference to Arab militias. The Sudanese government says security is improving in Darfur. The acting governor of West Darfur said on Tuesday 80 percent of his province was now stable. Soko listed a number of obstacles facing the AU troops, including the lack of good roads, attack helicopters, night-vision devices and adequate funding. The commander of the AU police in West Darfur said displaced Darfuris were also accusing his forces of not protecting them in the face of Janjaweed attacks. Guterres, speaking to Reuters on board a U.N. flight back to Khartoum, said the briefing did not surprise him. "To overcome these difficulties and limitations is crucial, even to establish the confidence with the displaced communities (which) for the moment is lacking to a large extent," he said.
