US seeks probe of Darfur SLM killing in Sudanese capital
March 29, 2007 (WASHINGTON) — The United States on Thursday called for a probe into the weekend killing of a Sudan Liberation Movement commander, which jeopardizes a Darfur peace deal, a US spokesman said.
“We abhor these senseless acts of violence that undermine the Darfur Peace Agreement,” he said.
The agreement “is the path forward for providing a peaceful resolution to the Darfur crisis and for ending the suffering of innocent civilians,” he said in a statement.
Former Darfur rebels said on Monday a senior commander was killed in an ambush in the troubled Sudanese region at the weekend on the same day as a gunbattle claimed 11 lives, a new blow to the peace deal.
“The United States regrets the loss of life and hopes an investigation results in a full and transparent accounting of events, which will lead to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators,” McCormack said.
SLM officials in Nyala said the attackers were members of the feared Janjaweed, a government-backed Arab militia accused of a spate of human rights abuses in Darfur since the ethnic minority rebels rose up in 2003.
The Darfur ambush came the same day as a gunbattle between SLM supporters and police in Khartoum’s twin city of Omdurman left 11 dead, including eight rebels and two police.
The clash was the first in the capital between the SLM and the government. It was also the worst violence in the metropolis since riots sparked by the death of southern former rebel leader John Garang in August 2005 killed more than 45 people.
According to the United Nations, at least 200,000 people have been killed and two million displaced since the conflict erupted. Some sources say the death toll is much higher.
In the face of the worsening bloodshed, the Khartoum regime of President Omar al-Beshir faces mounting calls for UN sanctions.
(AFP)