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LISA MULLINS: The United Nations estimates that the war in Darfur has left some 300,000 people dead since 2003. It's also uprooted another 2.5 million. These people have been caught in the fighting among Darfur rebels and government forces. Those government forces include militias known as the janjaweed. BBC correspondent Mike Thomson managed to get a rare interview with a former Sudanese government soldier. The soldier didn't want to give his name, but he told Mike Thomson that he took part in attacks on seven villages in Darfur in 2003. A warning here: the story the man tells is disturbing.

SOLDIER: The orders given to us is to burn the villages completely. Even we have to poison the water wells. We also given order to kill all the women and rape the girls, and they're 13 and 14.

MIKE THOMSON: Did you do what you were told to do?

SOLDIER: When they ask me to rape, I went to the girl and stood in front of her. My tears came out. They said, “You have to rape her. If you don't, we will beat you.” Then I hesitated, they hit me with the back of the rifle. When I went to the girl to rape her, I couldn't. What I did is I just lay myself onto her as if I'm raping her for about 10, 15 minute. Then I jump up and come out and they said, “Did you rape her?” I said, “Yes.” They went back to our area of the base and they said, “Okay. We're going out again.” I refuse. They beat me up. They torture me. They burned my legs and my back.

THOMSON: Did you take part in any of the burnings that you were ordered to do?

SOLDIER: Yes, I did. We had no choice. Yes.

THOMSON: Did anyone refuse?

SOLDIER: Two of my colleagues refused. They shot them dead.

THOMSON: Did you shoot anyone? Because you were ordered to, weren't you?

SOLDIER: I didn't kill anybody, but I did shoot towards the people. I meant not to kill or to shoot anybody.

THOMSON: Was it ever explained to you as a soldier before these attacks why these terrible things were being done? Why you were being ordered to do them?

SOLDIER: Yes. They say they are the one who take food and water to the rebels. They say that if we kill these people and burn the villages, then the government will not have the supply so they will not move out of the country to the neighboring country.

THOMSON: But how did they justify to you killing children? Killing babies?

SOLDIER: They said this is our law. We have to finish everything.

THOMSON: They said it's the law to kill babies and children?

SOLDIER: This is what they say. Yes.

THOMSON: Do you think your own people will ever be able to forgive you for the part you played, even though it was reluctant and you were forced to join the army? Do you think they'll ever really believe you, they'll ever trust you again, accept you again as one of theirs?

SOLDIER: They only know that I became a soldier. They don't know what I am even in my family.

THOMSON: President Al Bashir has repeatedly said that his army is not guilty of atrocities against civilians. And he's also added that if this did happen in any cases, he certainly had no knowledge of it. Do you think that is credible?

SOLDIER: Omar Bashir, he's on the chair. This is Al Bashir doing all these things.

MULLINS: That's a former Sudanese soldier relating his story to the BBC's Mike Thomson. You can hear a longer version of that interview on our website, theworld.org. You'll also find more coverage of news and analysis on Darfur and Sudan.

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