Sudanese government releases eight rebel prisoners

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Dec 7, 2004 (Ap) — Sudan has released eight prisoners from the rebel Sudan Liberation Army who were captured in fighting in the Darfur region, the official news agency reported Tuesday.

Prisoners of war from the Sudanese army wait under rebel guard to be handed over to African Union officials in the mountain village of Deribat in South Darfur November 16, 2004.

The Monday release followed a similar move by the rebels, who last month set free 15 government soldiers and five policemen it had captured as prisoners.

“This move shows the government’s commitment to all agreements it signed and is proof of its observance of international humanitarian laws, ” Osman Yusuf Kibir, the governor of north Darfur state, was quoted as saying the Sudan News Agency.

Kibir called on the rebels to “listen to the voice of wisdom, lay down arms, and come back home.”

SLA officials could not be reached for comment.

The latest report on Darfur by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan warns of looming chaos as violence increases, order collapses, and the number of desperate people in need of humanitarian aid reaches nearly 2.3 million.

The Darfur conflict, which the United Nations describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Army and allied Justice and Equality Movement took up arms against what they saw as years of state neglect and discrimination against Sudanese of African origin.

The government responded with a counterinsurgency campaign in which the Janjaweed has committed wide-scale abuses against the African population.

Annan’s report said optimism generated by a Nov. 9 agreement between the government and two rebel groups on humanitarian and security issues has been overshadowed by the deteriorating security situation in recent weeks. Each side has accused the other of violating a cease-fire.