12 000 refugees flee Darfur
2008-02-10 21:03
Geneva - About 12 000 people from Sudan's Darfur region have crossed the border into neighbouring Chad after heavy bombardments and armed attacks by Sudanese forces and the Janjaweed militia, the UN refugee agency said on Sunday.
The refugees have fled to the Birak region of southeastern Chad after attacks on Friday and Saturday by the Sudanese army and the Janjaweed militia, UN High Commissioner for Refugees spokesperson Helene Caux told AFP.
Eastern Chad remains a highly volatile area after recent fighting between Chadian government and rebel forces, which led the UNHCR to evacuate staff from the country and thousands of Chadians to cross to neighbouring Cameroon, Caux said.
However, the fresh refugees from Darfur "have been through the worst already", she added.
The UNHCR is sending an assessment team to the region and hopes to move people by truck to existing camps for Darfur refugees on Monday, she said.
Civilians killed
The Sudanese army on Saturday confirmed its troops had carried out military operations in western Darfur and regained control of three communities, pushing out rebels to Chad.
"Army forces carried out large-scale operations combing the areas of Abu Suruj, Serba and Salia," army spokesperson Othman Mohammed al-Agbash told the official news agency SUNA, referring to areas in western Darfur.
The Justice and Equality Movement rebels said that Sudanese troops backed by Janjaweed militia had attacked the three communities north of Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, killing dozens of civilians on Friday.
JEM commander Abdel Aziz Nur al-Asher told AFP by telephone then that soldiers with 65 vehicles, backed by air support, launched the first attack alongside 600 Janjaweed fighters on camels.
He later said Sirba and Salia, also north of Geneina, had also come under attack, with Antonov fixed wing aircraft and combat helicopters taking part.
The latest unrest comes after a senior UN official warned on Friday that a reported proxy war between Sudan and Chad through rebel groups on each side of their border threatened to destabilise the region and lead to a wider conflict.