Sudan says Darfur rebel group killed pilot, captured another
May 1, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — The Sudanese army accused a Darfur rebel group of killing one pilot and capturing another when the rebels downed a military helicopter in the restive western region this week, a radio reported Tuesday.
The military also vowed to crush the National Redemption Front that it said was behind the attack. The NRF is a coalition of Darfur rebels who rejected last year’s peace accord signed in Abuja, Nigeria.
The state Radio of Omduraman carried a military statement saying the helicopter was on a reconnaissance flight when it disappeared Sunday. The statement was also carried late Monday by the official SUNA news agency.
It said that despite the “good-will gesture” by the Khartoum government toward the “remnants of the rebels,” the NRF “insists in pursuing its hostile attitude that does not serve national interests or the interest of the civilians.”
“While denouncing this barbaric treacherous action, the Sudanese armed forces vow to repay back the hit twice,” the military said. “We will crush those rebels.”
No further details of the attack were given.
Rebel commander Sulayman Marjan on Monday phoned the Sudan Tribune to claim his forces brought the helicopter down in Amarai, North Darfur, while it was taking part in a bombing operation with an Antonov plane. Marjan said that during the past week, the military had repeatedly bombed the area.
U.N. Security Council resolutions and the Darfur Peace Agreement prohibit the Sudanese military from conducting bombing raids in Darfur. African Union peacekeepers in the region have often accused the government of violating this regulation. The government routinely denies such transgressions.
The four-year long Darfur conflict has left more than 200,000 dead and 2 million displaced and refugees. It began when ethnic African rebels took up arms against the Arab-led Sudanese government, accusing it of discrimination. The government is accused of arming the Arab janjaweed militia as a counterinsurgency tactic, and the militiamen have been blamed for widespread rapes and killings of Darfur civilians.
(AP)