When the fighters came, the mothers of Jebel Maun could not protect their children. Screaming toddlers were ripped from their grasp and shot; older children who tried to save their brothers and sisters were hunted down. "Four children escaped in a group and ran under a tree for protection. An attacker came and shot at them, killing one of the children," said a witness in an account to United Nations staff. Another group, aged five, seven and nine, tried to run away. The five-year-old fell down and was shot dead. Another boy stopped and told the attacker: "You killed this child. Please let me go." It was no use. He too was killed, one of more than 20 children who died that day. Local people in the Darfur region of Sudan put the number of dead in the attack earlier this month at 63, mostly old men and children. The African Union, which has a peacekeeping force in Darfur, said 92 people died in the eight villages attacked.