KHARTOUM, Sept 6, 2008 (AFP) - Darfur rebels on Saturday accused the Sudanese government of inflicting heavy casualties during bombing raids in north Darfur and battles with fighters from the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA).
"There are many dead, both civilians and some of our soldiers too," said Ibrahim al-Hillo, a commander from the SLA faction led by exiled commander Abdel Wahid Mohammed Nur.
He claimed militias, four helicopter gunships and two Antonov aircraft began attacking civilians and rebel positions early on Saturday in the town of Disa, north of Kutum. Several vehicles were also reported to have been involved.
"This is very big, they are killing and looting in front of us," Hillo said from the battlefield. "The fighting is still going on, they are inside the town and are looting. We don't know the number of dead yet, but there are many."
Casualty figures were not yet available and there was no immediate comment from the military.
A spokesman for the joint African Union-UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) said they were investigating the report.
"We have been in contact with the (rebel) movements, who have told us of an attack, but they were not in a position to provide more details of casualties or damages," he said. "We are checking those reports."
Last month rebels accused the government of launching a massive attack to flush them out from stronghold positions.
Sudan has warned that a request from the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor for an arrest warrant against President Omar al-Beshir over alleged crimes and genocide in Darfur could embolden rebels.
According to the United Nations, up to 300,000 people have died and more than 2.2 million have fled their homes since the conflict erupted in February 2003. Sudan says 10,000 have been killed.
The war began when African ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-led Khartoum regime and state-backed Arab militias, fighting for resources and power in one of the most remote and deprived places on earth.
The conflict has since deteriorated with the emergence of a multiplying array of rebel groups, breakaway militia groups and bandits.
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