By Opheera McDoom KHARTOUM, July 10 (Reuters) - Sudan's government and Darfur's rebel groups are all using child soldiers in violation of international law, the U.N. rights rapporteur in Sudan Sima Samar said on Thursday. On her sixth and possibly final visit to Sudan since her appointment in 2005, Samar also condemned a Darfur rebel attack on the capital Khartoum in May in which more than 200 people were killed and hundreds were wounded. "During my visit I saw child soldiers almost everywhere with the government and also with the (rebel) movements," she told reporters. "Child soldiers are a clear violation of international human rights law and we condemn it," she added. Sudan, which has used child soldiers in its battle against southern rebels in the 1990s, says it no longer recruits youngsters to fight. Samar said the government had promised to release 89 child soldiers held at a "rehabilitation camp" since they were captured during the attack by the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) on Khartoum. JEM denies having any child soldiers. "They should not be prosecuted they should be reintegrated ... and reunited with their families and the government promised they would do that," Samar said. She added the government should also protect their identities and not expose them to the media. International experts estimate some 200,000 have died and 2.5 million driven from their homes since mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003 accusing Khartoum of neglect. The government mobilised mostly Arab militia to quell the revolt. Those militia stand accused of widespread rape, looting and killing. Asked if the government had done enough to hold those responsible accountable for war crimes in Darfur, Samar said: "The government has real shortcomings on accountability and justice not only in Darfur but in ... other instances." The government refuses to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) which is seeking to try a minister and an allied militia leader already indicted for Darfur war crimes. The ICC prosecution said on Thursday that it will open a new case on Monday on crimes committed in Darfur and is expected to charge senior government officials. Sudan says it has tried those responsible for crimes in Darfur. "I keep calling on the government to do more on crimes committed by those people in order to stop the culture of immunity in this country," Samar said. She said some progress had been made on rape, which at the height of Darfur's conflict was rampant, with eight cases being tried since March. Khartoum has heavily criticised Samar in the past. Samar said her desk officer for the mission was not granted a visa to accompany her on this trip. Samar's mandate ends in December and she said this was likely to be her last visit to Sudan. (Editing by Sami Aboudi)
A man walks around to look for doctor in the Kanti Children's Hospital in Kathmandu July 10, 2008. Hospitals and clinics all over Nepal went on strike for the second day ...
