Darfur rebels return 135 POWs to government: paper
KHARTOUM, Sept 16 (AFP) — The rebel Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) has returned 135 prisoners of war to government authorities in the western region of Darfur, the independent newspaper Al-Sahafa reported Tuesday.
Jebriel Abdallah, an official in North Darfur State, quoted by the paper, said the releases took place on Monday and that the SLM promised to also free the rest of its prisoners, but without giving a number or date.
The government released 54 SLM members in early September under a ceasefire accord with the rebels, according to presidential affairs minister Al-Tayeb Ibrahim Mohammed Khair.
A six-week ceasefire deal was signed in Chad on September 3, but the rebels have since repeatedly accused government militias of violating the truce.
Abdallah acknowledged that 102 people had been killed in the Sayalah region of North Darfur since the accord was signed, but he did not identify who was responsible for the deaths.
The conflict has raged since February in western Sudan’s Darfur states, where the SLM say they are fighting for an end to marginalization and neglect of the large, impoverished region by central authorities.
Abdallah said the fighting has cost 3,000 lives.
It has also left 400,000 displaced, according to UN estimates. The United Nations on Monday announced the launch of a 23-million-dollar humanitarian aid initiative to promote peace in the semi-desert region near the Chad border.
KHARTOUM, Sept 16 (AFP) – The rebel Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) has returned 135 prisoners of war to government authorities in the western region of Darfur, the independent newspaper Al-Sahafa reported Tuesday.
Jebriel Abdallah, an official in North Darfur State, quoted by the paper, said the releases took place on Monday and that the SLM promised to also free the rest of its prisoners, but without giving a number or date.
The government released 54 SLM members in early September under a ceasefire accord with the rebels, according to presidential affairs minister Al-Tayeb Ibrahim Mohammed Khair.
A six-week ceasefire deal was signed in Chad on September 3, but the rebels have since repeatedly accused government militias of violating the truce.
Abdallah acknowledged that 102 people had been killed in the Sayalah region of North Darfur since the accord was signed, but he did not identify who was responsible for the deaths.
The conflict has raged since February in western Sudan’s Darfur states, where the SLM say they are fighting for an end to marginalization and neglect of the large, impoverished region by central authorities.
Abdallah said the fighting has cost 3,000 lives.
It has also left 400,000 displaced, according to UN estimates. The United Nations on Monday announced the launch of a 23-million-dollar humanitarian aid initiative to promote peace in the semi-desert region near the Chad border.