In the Darfur region of Sudan, 30 civilians were killed on Saturday when a pro-government militia ambushed a convoy of refugees. The United Nations said some of the refugees were shot, others were burnt to death. African Union peacekeepers investigating the attack were later taken hostage. The United Nations’ Human Rights Council is holding a special session beginning on Tuesday to discuss human rights violations in Sudan. On Sunday, thousands of demonstrators marched in London and other cities to protest the Sudanese government’s use of rape as a weapon of war. On Friday, outgoing U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on the world to help stop the crisis.

Kofi Annan: “The tragedy of Darfur has raged for over three years now, and still reports pour in of villages being destroyed in the hundreds and of brutal treatment of civilians spreading into neighboring countries. How can an international community which claims to uphold human rights allow this horror to continue?”