Fierce fighting in Sudan’s Darfur: rebel group

N’DJAMENA, Aug 4 (AFP) — Fierce fighting has broken out between rebel groups and government backed Arab militia in the crisis-hit Sudanese region of Darfur, a rebel leader said on Wednesday.

“Since last night (Tuesday) about 5000 Janjaweed have been attacking our two movements in Mahadjiria and Cheeria, between Nyala and El-Fasher in the south of Darfur,” a spokesman of the rebel Movement for Justice and Equality (MJE) said.

Ahmat Toggo said a number of rebels had been killed or wounded, but would not be more specific. He said the fighting was still going on at Midday on Wednesday.

“These clashes, which have been exceptionally intense, have meant that observers from the ceasefire commission based in El-Fasher have not been able to reach the front line,” said Toggo.

“This attack against our positions calls into the question the overall ceasefire and proves once again that Sudan is violating the ceasefire,” he added.

Toggo said his group would issue a statement regarding its position with respect to the ceasefire after a meeting of his rebel group.

The ceasefire was signed on April 8 in the Chadian capital by the rebels and the Sudanese government.

Tens of thousands of people have died and more than a million been driven from their homes since the rebels, fighting for the rights of the ethnic African minority, launched an uprising against the Sudanese army and its Arab militia allies.

The Arab militias, also known as Janjaweed, have been accused by rights groups and locals in Darfur of ethnic cleansing.

The African Union said on Wednesday it was planning to send a 2,000-strong peacekeeping force to Sudan’s troubled Darfur region, which the United Nations says is the scene of the world’s worst humanitarian disaster.