Sudan army attack claims dozens

2008-02-20 15:11

Khartoum - The Sudanese military on Wednesday confirmed carrying out another deadly operation in Darfur, where the UN was focusing a massive peacekeeping operation, and rebels said dozens were killed.

Army spokesperson Othman Mohammed al-Aghbash said in a statement published in the Sudanese media that forces were "sweeping the Jebel Moon area, which the (rebel) Justice and Equality Movement claims to control".

He said the area - not far from Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state - had become a "legitimate" military target, but that the army was in control.

JEM commander Abdel Aziz Nur al-Asher said that the Sudanese military had waged a three-pronged attack on Jebel Moon, accusing the army of killing about 50 civilians, including seven women and four children.

Asher said the military, equipped with two helicopter gunships and a large transport plane, burnt down three villages in fighting that dragged on from morning until late afternoon, denying the army was in control of the area.

The army spokesperson said eight Sudanese soldiers were killed and 15 wounded in the operation. JEM suffered "heavy losses" he said.

Aghbash said the army would not sit by while JEM, "with help from Chad," cut the road between Geneina and the town of Kilbus to the north, isolating Kilbus and another town, Tina.

It was the second recent operation against JEM in Darfur, the vast and deeply impoverished western area of Sudan in the throes of civil war.

Death toll at 200 000

Since the conflict started five years ago, at least 200 000 people had died and more than two million had fled their homes after ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Sudan's Arab-dominated regime in February 2003.

The Sudanese government maintains, however, that 9 000 had been killed.

Although a joint African Union-UN peacekeeping mission had been operational since the beginning of 2008, so far only 9 000 of the 26 000 personnel ultimately envisaged were on the ground.

On Tuesday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said it had withdrawn a team caring for refugees from the Chad-Darfur border after aerial bombing.

Seven refugees from Darfur crossed into Chad late on Monday, it said.

They carried with them a 55-year-old woman who lost both her legs during an alleged bombardment of the Aro Sharow camp for the internally displaced, north of Jebel Moon, who later died, the UNHCR said.

UNHCR believed that at least 10 000 people had fled Darfur after heavy bombardment and aerial attacks by the Sudanese army and its Janjaweed militia allies on February 08.

- AFP