Sudan says 7 Janjaweed killed in clashes with the army

May 23, 2006 (NYALA) — The government of South Darfur State has announced that as a result of clashes in south Darfur, seven members of the Janjaweed militia were killed and others arrested while three armed forces personnel were killed and three others injured.

Governor of the State Al-Haj Atta-al-Manan told the Sudanese press that measures would continue to gather militias’ arms and contain and gather their troops according to the Abuja agreement.

Sudanese government according to the Darfur Peace Agreement must disarm completely the Janjaweed militias by mid-October 2006, and to contain all the armed militias into specific restricted areas prior to disarmament.

He pointed out that all militias and armed groups were under control.

The governor revealed that clashes had occurred between the armed forces and a group of Janjaweed who he said were carrying out acts of armed robbery in the Amar Jadid area last Friday 19 May.

He said the army had dealt with the group and had killed seven of the group’s members and arrested others while three members of the armed forces were martyred and three others wounded.

On May 5, only a SLM faction led by Minni Minawi signed the peace deal with Khartoum to end fighting that has killed tens of thousands of people. The two other holdout groups demand additional commitments from the government on power-sharing, security arrangement and compensation for the victims.

The AU said it would push the United Nations Security Council to take action against the two smaller rebel groups if they did not meet the new May 31 deadline. The action shall include a travel ban, asset freeze and weapons embargo.

(ST)