Rebels accuse Sudan government of killing 46 in Darfur

CAIRO, Aug 26 (AFP) — Sudanese rebels accused government forces Tuesday of having killed 46 civilians and destroyed 500 villages in North Darfur state, in the west of the country.

“Antonov planes bombarded on Sunday and Monday the city of Kornoy, at the extreme west of North Darfur, killing 46 people, including children, women and elderly,” said Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) Secretary General Mani Arkoi Minawi.

“Half of the city, at about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the borders with Chad, was destroyed,” he told AFP here by telephone.

Minawi also accused “pro-government militias of destroying at least 500 villages in North Darfur in the past two weeks.”

“There is a great number of people killed” in the incidents, said Minawi who could not provide an exact figure for victims.

On August 11, Minawi accused pro-government militias of killing some 300 civilians in Kuttum, the second largest town in North Darfur.

The SLM began life as the Darfur Liberation Movement in August 2001 before re-emerging under its current name last February when it began claiming responsibility for a series of anti-government attacks.