KHARTOUM, Sudan - The suspected head of a Sudanese militia accused of murder, rape and other atrocities in Darfur has been appointed to a senior government post, the Sudanese government confirmed Monday.
Musa Hilal, alleged leader of the so-called janjaweed militias, was named adviser to Sudan's Ministry of Federal Affairs last week, the Sudanese media reported Monday.
The ministry manages the central government's relations with the outlying provinces in Africa's largest country.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir defended the appointment.
"He is an influential figure in Darfur . . . (whose) leadership has contributed to stability and security,'' al-Bashir said during a visit to Turkey.
"We think the accusations against him are untrue.''
Hilal is the leader of the Mahamid, a clan belonging to the powerful Rezeigat tribe of nomadic Arabs in Darfur. He is accused of having led the proxy militia raised by the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum to fight Darfur's ethnic African rebels.
Over 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million been chased to refugee camps since the fighting began in 2003 -- most of them ethnic Africans.
The UN Security Council imposed travel and financial sanctions against Hilal and three others in April 2006 for his alleged role in what U.S. President George W. Bush has called a "genocide.''
Hilal has denied any wrongdoing, stating in a 2004 video interview with New York-based Human Rights Watch that he always acted on orders and under control of the Sudanese government.
Federal Affairs Minister Abdelbasit Sabderat told The Associated Press by telephone that Hilal would be "handling tribal affairs throughout the Sudan,'' adding that Darfur would not be the adviser's only focus.
The Sudanese government denies it arms or employs the janjaweed, stating they are uncontrolled tribal militias prone to banditry.
It says tribal fighters incorporated into uniformed paramilitary groups, which do much of the government's fighting in Darfur, are regular troops and not janjaweed.
But in February 2007, the International Criminal Court in The Hague charged a cabinet minister, Ahmed Haroun, and a suspected janjaweed leader known as Ali Kushayb with 51 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur, including the murder, rape, torture and persecution of civilians.
The ICC alleges Haroun co-ordinated government efforts to arm and fund the janjaweed, and that Kushayb led militias in southern Darfur.
Sudan, which is not a party to the ICC, has refused to hand over the suspects. Haroun remains in office as minister of Humanitarian Affairs -- where he oversees humanitarian relief for Darfur's victims -- and Kushayb is in hiding under government protection.
The ICC has declined to comment on whether it intends to charge Hilal.
"Musa Hilal is the poster child for janjaweed atrocities in Darfur,'' said Richard Dicker of Human Rights Watch.
Naming him to a senior government position is a new "slap in the face to Darfur victims and to the UN Security Council,'' the group said in a statement.
Many Darfur Arab tribes have begun to fall out with the government or to fight among themselves for booty.
Some Sudanese observers see Hilal's appointment as a way to prevent further bloodshed and steer the nomads away from an open rebellion.
"This appointment comes out of political and tribal consideration,'' said Tayeb Khamis, a spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Movement, a former Darfur rebel faction whose leader has signed a peace deal with the government.
"The government is trying to strike a balance, and Hilal is an outstanding figure in North Darfur, regardless of what the ICC or others have on him,'' he said.
