5:46 a.m. Thursday, February 24, 2011
JUBA, Sudan � U.N. investigators say police recruits were beaten to death, sexually assaulted and forced to stand for hours in the heat as part of a training program funded by international donors, demonstrating the challenges ahead for what will soon be the world's newest nation.
Some of the 6,000 recruits who took part in a yearlong program to train new officers to promote stability in the war-torn region say they were raped and were beaten with sticks. U.N. investigators found that at least two trainees died from injuries.
The academy had received more than $1 million from the U.N. Development Program with promises of more aid. Now, international donors have suspended their support to the Rajaf police academy pending further investigation. Plans for the next class of recruits are on hold.