Canada warns of conflict in eastern Sudan

OTTAWA, June 15 (AFP) — A special advisory committee to Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin warned that while the conflict in Darfur has shown signs of abatement, more violence could pop up in eastern Sudan.

Beja rebels strip their rifles on a rocky hill near the Eritrean border town of Rubda June 4, 2005. (Reuters).

The number of deaths in the Darfur region have dropped in recent weeks, said MP Derek Lee, but there is a “real concern being expressed about the potential for a similar conflict involving similar types of deaths and assault in east Sudan.”

He called for more international involvement to stem the violence.

“The situation (in the east) is deteriorating. We are concerned that it could be a Darfur in the making,” said Senator Mobina Jaffer, who returned from the country a few weeks ago.

Nearly 300,000 people have died in the Darfur region since the beginning of 2003 and more than two million people have been displaced by fighting between rebels and government forces, according to UN estimates.