Sudan imposes curfew in Darfur towns amid rebels threats

KHARTOUM, Dec 17, 2003 (dpa) — Local government authorities in Sudan’s Darfur region declared a curfew Wednesday in all three Darfur states and mobilised troops against what it called unprecedented threats from rebels, the state-run Sudan News Agency (SUNA) reported.

SUNA said the move came after the two parties to the conflict in Darfur failed to make progress on solving the 10-month long civil war.

An opposition figure who wished to remain anonymous told Deutsche Presse Agentur, dpa that the government was trying to justify the aggressive steps it wanted to take against the people there.

“Civilians have been killed by pro-government militia groups, and the government has never taken any measures to protect them,” he added.