UN worried by Darfur rebel attack on Sudanese army

August 30, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — The U.N. mission in Sudan expressed grave concern Thursday over a Darfur rebel attack this week on an army stronghold in Sudan proper, saying the violence threatened to further destabilize the country.

According to local reports, the attack occurred Wednesday when Darfur rebels stormed the key barrack town of Wad-Banda in the West Kordufan province, which lies just outside Darfur.

The U.N. mission said in a statement that the two largest Darfur rebel groups, the Justice and Equality Movement, or JEM, and the Sudanese Liberation Army, or SLA, have both claimed responsibility for the attack on Wad-Banda, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from Darfur.

The statement said the “deliberate attack represents an escalation and an expansion of the Darfur conflict and threatens to destabilize other regions of the country.”

However, there were conflicting reports as to exactly what happened.

The independent Al Sahafa daily Thursday quoted Sulieman Balla, the commissioner of Wad-Banda, as saying the rebels entered the town briefly Wednesday evening and fought with a Sudanese police unit there. An unspecified number of policemen were killed and injured before the rebels pulled out of town, the daily also quoted the commissioner as saying.

The Sudanese army, meanwhile, denied rebel claims that the Darfur fighters seized Wad-Banda. The Independent daily Al Rae al-Aam quoted a Sudanese army official as saying that only “renegade” groups tried to attack the town but that they were repelled by a small police force.

Rebel leaders and Sudanese military officials were not available for comment Thursday.

But the reports raise concerns of Darfur violence spilling outside the western region into other areas of Sudan.

In condemning the attack, the U.N. stressed the “serious implications” it could have on the safety and security of civilians, as well as on U.N. humanitarian activities in the area.

The U.N. statement also called on JEM and SLA to refrain from violence and commit to peace in Darfur.

More than 200,000 people have died in Darfur since ethnic African rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated central government in 2003, accusing it of discrimination.

Khartoum is accused of retaliating by unleashing janjaweed militias, which are blamed for the worst atrocities against civilians in a conflict that has displaced more than 2.5 million people.

(AP)

Below the text of UNMIS statement on the rebel attack:

Khartoum 30 August 2007: The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) expresses its grave concern over the attack against the Wad Banda Sudanese army base in Kordofan for which the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Movement – Unity (SLA) have claimed responsibility.

This deliberate attack represents an escalation and an expansion of the Darfur conflict and threatens to destabilize other regions of the country.

In condemning this attack, UNMIS underscores the serious implications it could have to the safety and security of civilians, and to UN activities in the area. Moreover, the attack could undermine the efforts of the UN and AU Special Envoys at a time of serious and sensitive consultations to launch the renewed peace talks on Darfur.

UNMIS calls on JEM and SLA-Unity, as well as others involved in the conflict in Darfur to abide by their commitments to a cessation of hostilities, desist from further military action and commit to the political process offered by the Special Envoys as the only avenue to bring lasting and sustainable peace to Darfur and to Sudan as a whole.

For further information please contact Ms. Radhia Achouri, Spokesperson, UNMIS. Tel. (+249) 187 086 02, Mobile (+249) 912392270, e-mail: [email protected]