W.Sudan rebels say they killed 186 militia fighters
CAIRO, Nov 27 (Reuters) – Rebels and villagers attacked and killed 186 government-armed militia fighters who raided settlements in the west of Sudan, a rebel leader said on Thursday.
Justice and Equality Movement fighters responded on Wednesday to an appeal from villagers after attacks left more than 20 civilians dead in a tribal area in Western Darfur state, the group’s general coordinator Abu Bakr Hamid al-Nur said.
“Around 600 militiamen were burning villages in the Masalit area. The villagers asked us for help and with them we counter-attacked and killed 186 in the fight,” al-Nur told Reuters by satellite phone from Sudan.
The governor of neighbouring Northern Darfur state Osman Kebir told Reuters by telephone he had no information on the incidents described by al-Nur.
But he added: “The militias are not the problem. The primary responsibility lies with the rebels, particularly with the Justice and Equality Movement. They attack civilians and security forces.”
Another Darfur-based rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A), agreed to extend a ceasefire with the government earlier this month but has accused what it calls pro-government militias of violating the agreement.
Al-Nur said he did not know how many rebels and villagers clashed with the government-armed fighters in the arid region about 1100 km (700 miles) west of Khartoum.
The Justice and Equality Movement, which is not a party to the ceasefire, says it wants autonomy for the region and a greater share of Sudan’s resources for it.
London-based human rights group Amnesty International issued a statement saying the Sudanese government was largely responsible for the human rights and humanitarian crisis in Darfur.
Some half a million people have fled their homes this year to escape the violence, according to the U.N. Amnesty said refugees were short of food and water.
Their testimonies led Amnesty to conclude the “at least some” army elements were “encouraging” attacks on rural communities, the group said in the statement.
Governor Kebir said responsibility for the humanitarian situation lay with the rebels.
Amnesty called on all armed groups in the area, including militias and rebels, to ensure fighters did not commit abuses.
Sudan is currently in peace talks with a separate southern-based rebel group aimed at ending a two-decade-old civil war that has killed almost two million people, mainly due to famine and disease.