Latest News
Sudan presses Darfur offensive: rebels
By [unknown placeholder $article.art_field1$]
Sep 15, 2008 - 5:57:59 AM

Sudan presses Darfur offensive: rebels

2 hours ago

KHARTOUM (AFP) — Darfur rebels said on Monday they were fighting back against attacking government troops for a fourth day, the latest in a series of battles in Sudan's war-torn western region.

Villages have been burnt and insurgents bombed by Antonov aircraft since fighting erupted on Friday southwest of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, rebels from the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) said.

"The fighting began again early this morning at Khazan Tungur, soon after dawn," said Abu Bakr Kadu, a commander from the SLA-Unity faction.

He said approximately 70 government vehicles packed with troops were involved.

"There are government troops and Antonov aeroplanes, and we are fighting," he said, speaking from close to Khazan Tungur.

The information could not be independently verified, but the joint UN-African Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID) said their reports suggested clashes were continuing.

"There appears to be sporadic fighting," said UNAMID spokesman Kemal Saiki.

"Due to the difficulties of access to this area, we cannot confirm this directly, but it's based on various sources, including reports of the movement of troops and aircraft."

Peacekeepers are planning to deploy to the area but logistical and safety concerns are hampering their movement.

"There is a severe limitation of resources on a massive scale, including a shortage of aircraft," said Saiki.

Barely a third of the UNAMID force has been deployed to Sudan, and the peacekeepers have repeatedly called for more helicopters.

"We are in the process of putting together a group that will assess the situation directly on the ground," Saiki said.

Other rebels said government forces were helping militias loot villages and animals around the villages of Disa and Birmaza, some 140 kilometres (90 miles) northwest of El-Fasher.

Heavy fighting was reported in the area last week, but the rebels now say militia forces are stripping settlements of valuables.

"People fled into hiding during the fighting, and now the militias are taking their cattle and camels, looting everything from their houses," said Ibrahim al-Hillo, a commander from the SLA faction led by Paris-based exile Abdel Wahid Mohammed Nur.

"They are taking even the water pumps from the villages away, everything of value, and the government trucks are helping them," added Hillo, who said he was speaking from close by to Birmaza.

Recent attacks have threatened to scupper a fragile alliance with the one rebel faction to have signed a peace deal with Khartoum, after claims that government soldiers attacked SLA troops loyal to leader Minni Minnawi on Saturday and Sunday.

However Minnawi, an ex-rebel turned presidential advisor after signing a 2006 peace agreement, said areas around his base now appeared calm.

"It seems peaceful now," Minnawi told AFP by satellite telephone from near to Tabit, south of El-Fasher. "There are no reports of new developments."

There was no immediate response from the military. However, a Sudanese army spokesman has repeatedly insisted that the only military action under way is against bandits responsible for a spate of attacks on aid convoys.

The Sudanese Media Centre, a news website close to the security services, quoted army spokesman Osman al-Aghbash as saying troops had moved to control Khazan Tungur, as well as Tabit.

The army will "keep chasing outlaws and thieves wherever they exist in Darfur", the spokesman warned, according to a report posted on Sunday.

The recent spate of clashes comes amid mounting pressure on Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir as he seeks to head off potential charges from the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and genocide in Darfur.

According to the United Nations, up to 300,000 people have died and more than 2.2 million fled their homes since rebels rose up against Khartoum in February 2003. Sudan says 10,000 people have been killed.