WASHINGTON — The Genocide Intervention Network (GI-Net) today released information [0] on nine areas in the world where large numbers of civilians are the targets of brutal atrocities.

According to GI-Net's findings, civilians in the Darfur region of Sudan continue to suffer forced displacement and multiple forms of violence. The government of Sudan is still funding the Janjaweed, obstructing the deployment of an international peacekeeping force, and continuing to severely limit access to aid. Meanwhile, the regime in Burma continues its military campaign — ongoing since 1962 — to drive out, terrify, and dominate minority groups in rural areas.

In addition to Darfur and Burma, other areas of concern include: Kenya, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Chad, Central African Republic, Iraq, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These conflicts were selected, through a comparative analysis of nearly 90 armed conflicts around the world, on the basis of the scale and nature of atrocities targeting civilians. The listed areas of concern reflect the "hotspots" of the world where civilians are being targeted on the largest scale.

"The international community has a special responsibility in cases of genocide and mass atrocities to ensure slaughters such as the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide do not occur once again," said Genocide Intervention Network Executive Director Mark Hanis.

"This list does not represent every area where civilians face violence, but focuses on the largest and worst situations where there are intentional, targeted atrocities — sometimes committed by governments," Hanis said. "We hope this analysis will help remind political leaders of the world's responsibility to protect civilians from atrocities occurring in states where the governments are unwilling or unable to do so."