Darfur rebels attack government offices

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Sep 22, 2004 (UPI) — Darfur rebels attacked government buildings and public offices Wednesday in a neighboring province in western Sudan, trashing offices and assaulting officials.

Witnesses told UPI gunmen belonging to one of the rebellious militias in Darfur attacked the city of Ghabish in a nearby province, ransacking government offices and beating up several local officials.

They said the rebels attacked the police station, the post and telephone office and a bank, destroying their contents and driving officials outside the buildings where they beat them up.

It was the first time that the rebels staged attacks outside the three sectors of Darfur since war broke out in that province in February 2003.

The attack took place at a time an uneasy truce is still in force between the rebels and the Sudanese government.

A major rebel attack was carried out in March 2003, when rebels destroyed six warplanes and killed dozens of soldiers in Darfur’s main city of Fasher.