Darfur fighting 'definitely over'
2006-10-04 09:04
Gusa Jamat - Clashes between government and rebel forces are steadily increasing the number of dead and homeless in Darfur.
But, one corner of this violent region of Sudan had found a way to avoid the crisis: a powerful village militia that had kept fighting at bay for more than a year.
Sheik Nasser Abd el-Rahman Shaieb said: "I don't know about the rest of Darfur, but here the war is definitely over."
According to Shaieb, Gusa Jamat's village headman: "We've got enough guns and trained men to make sure of that."
More than 200 000 people had been killed and 2.5 million displaced in this troubled area in western Sudan since 2003, after rebels from ethnic African tribes rose against the Arab-led Sudanese government.
Peace deal 'deepened the crisis'
In response, Khartoum unleashed the janjaweed, a militia of Arab nomads accused of many atrocities. A peace agreement signed in May between the main rebel group and Khartoum had only deepened the crisis.
Various splinter factions were fighting for territory, and the government since late August, had waged an offensive against rebels in the northern part of Darfur.
Civilians had been caught in the crossfire, and the United Nations said access for the delivery of humanitarian assistance was verging on an all time low.
But, some civilians were distancing themselves from politics. Villagers and even many refugees told all warring parties that they just wanted the fighting to stop.
At the centre of a coalition of neutral villages that united more than 10 000 people, Gusa Jamat's homegrown militia kicked out the rebels more than two years ago, and made sure the government didn't come back in their place.
Govt mobilises 8 000 fighters
Shaieb said: "We're tired of the fighting." The village headman added that every man here had a gun and they could be at the ready if alerted by the warning network with surrounding villages.
To the north, the government had mobilised at least 8 000 fighters in El Fasher, the regional capital, a move that the UN said violated the cease-fire.
Though Khartoum pledged to disarm the janjaweed, many El Fasher residents said they recognised some of the dreaded fighters among the newly arrived troops.
Aid workers said several people died in a recent shoot-out between the rowdy new paramilitary force and the regular army.
Residents said that hundreds of soldiers had been killed, injured or captured by rebel forces, which had also sustained losses, since the government began the offensive on August 28.
To the south of Gusa Jamat, rebel factions clashed earlier this week near the refugee camp of Gereida. The African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur said at least 11 people were killed, but aid groups said many more may had died.
AU spokesperson Noureddine Mezni said looting continued, there had been reports of gang rapes and round ups of all the young men in the area by the rebels.
- AP