Darfur rebels accuse Sudanese government of launching air strikes

CAIRO, Nov 1 (AFP) — Sudanese rebels in the Darfur region of western Sudan accused the government of launching air raids on their positions Saturday, threatening the indirect peace talks underway in neighbouring Chad.

“Antonov planes dropped bombs on the positions of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) in northern Darfur,” the group’s chief negotiator, Abdullah Hasaballah Domee, told AFP by telephone.

Domee said he was speaking from the eastern Chadian town of Abeche, 300 kilometers (180 miles) from the Sudanese border. The bombing also targeted “civilian zones” and meant “a resumption of the war”, he said.

He said direct talks with the government delegation in Abeche have not started, and that he would request the Chadian mediatiors who have been shuttling between the two sides “to get an explanation” on the bombing.

The talks already reached a deadlock earlier this week, with the two sides accusing each other of putting forward unacceptable conditions for direct talks to take place.

The government has ruled out the deployment of international monitors in Darfur, while the SLM/A has accused Khartoum of seeking to impose a deal that calls for the group’s dissolution even before the start of negotiations.

On September 3, the government and the SLM/A signed a ceasefire agreement which they later accused each other of violating.

The Darfur rebellion, launched in February to protest against economic neglect of the semi-desert region by Khartoum, has left about 3,000 dead so far, according to UN estimates.

Another 400,000 have been displaced by the conflict.