Sudan army in 'fresh attacks'
2009-09-18 21:49
Khartoum - The Sudanese army has attacked rebel positions in the Western Sudanese region of Darfur, a senior rebel official told AFP on Friday, as peacekeepers tried to confirm the news.
Ibrahim al-Hillu, of the Sudanese Liberation Army faction headed by exiled leader Abdelwahid Nur, said the attacks began on Thursday and continued on Friday west of Jabbal Marra, a fertile zone in the heart of Darfur, and in Korma in North Darfur province.
"The fighting has caused civilian casualties," Hillu said by phone from Paris, without elaborating.
He accused the army of seeking to place rebels from neighbouring Chad in areas controlled by SLA-Abdelwahid.
"We are not in a position to confirm" new attacks in Darfur, Kamal Saiki, head of communications for the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur (Unamid) told AFP.
The Sudanese army could not immediately be reached for comment.
Chad has accused Sudan of supporting rebels seeking to oust the regime there, while Khartoum has charged Ndjamena with backing ethnic minority rebels in Darfur.
According to military, diplomatic and rebel sources, Chadian rebels - who in May launched an offensive against Ndjamena - have left the Chad-Sudan border and headed into Darfur.
The United Nations says up to 300 000 people have died and 2.7 million fled their homes since ethnic minority rebels in Darfur first rose up against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum in February 2003. The government says 10 000 people have been killed.
Last month the former Unamid military commander, Martin Luther Agwai of Nigeria, declared the war in Darfur was over, sparking the ire of rebel movements.
- SAPA