Four rebels killed in Darfur
2007-10-09 15:24
Khartoum - The only Darfur rebel group to have signed a peace deal with Khartoum said on Tuesday that four of its fighters were killed repelling an attack on a town by Sudanese government forces as violence mounted ahead of new peace talks this month.
Seifeddin Haroun, spokesperson for the Sudan Liberation Movement of Minni Minawi, said: "We repulsed the attack launched on Mohajiriya and the situation this morning is calm."
He said four SLM fighters were killed and an unknown number of fighters and civilians wounded, accusing Khartoum of using scorched earth policies ahead of peace talks due to be held in Tripoli on October 27.
He said: "There is destruction, pillaging and theft, which means the Janjaweed took part in the attack", referring to the Khartoum-backed militia that had been at the forefront of attacks on rebels and civilians in Darfur since the conflict began in 2003.
200 000 people killed
Haroun said on Monday that the army had launched an offensive against SLM-controlled Mohajiriya in southern Darfur and that "half of the town has already been destroyed".
He called the attack a "flagrant violation" of the peace deal signed by the rebel group and Khartoum in Abuja in May 2006 aimed at ending a conflict that had left at least 200 000 people dead.
There was no immediate reaction from Khartoum, but South Darfur governor Ali Mahmud blamed the attack on "Bedouins and Arabs and rebel elements".
The African Union and the United Nations in Khartoum said they were awaiting more information before commenting.
As a result of the attack, Minawi, now a special advisor to President Omar al-Beshir, cut short a visit to Darfur in which he had been trying to persuade other rebel factions to join this month's peace talks in Libya.
Haskanita town destroyed
The accusations from Minawi's faction followed charges from rival rebel leader Suleiman Jamous that as many as 100 civilians had been killed after the government razed the nearby south Darfur town of Haskanita.
The Sudanese military denied the charges. The town of Haskanita was destroyed on Saturday after a September 29 attack on a nearby AU base that left 10 peacekeepers dead and drew worldwide condemnation.
The UN said the town was burned to the ground and its market looted, and that the civilian population fled to neighbouring areas. However, it didn't say who it thought carried out the attack.
The recent upsurge in fighting in the western Sudanese region led a senior UN official on Monday to appeal for more mobility and firepower for a bolstered AU-UN force to replace the under-equipped AU troops.
Jean-Marie Guehenno, head of UN peacekeeping operations, said he was "very concerned" with the escalating violence which "shows the importance of having troops that are very mobile, with the capacity to dominate any situation".