Sudanese forces bomb Chadian side of border town, killing two

N’DJAMENA, Chad, Jan 30, 2004 (AP) — Sudanese forces bombed the Chadian side of a border town, killing two people as they fought rebels for control of the Sudanese half of the town, an official from an international aid group said Friday.

The bombing Thursday in Tine, a town divided between Chad and Sudan, is the latest incident of fighting between Sudanese forces and insurgents spilling over into neighboring Chad since the rebellion began nearly a year ago.

A father and daughter were killed in the bombing that forced thousands of Sudanese refugees who had sought haven in the Chadian side of Tine to flee deeper into the central African country, said Michel Francoys, who heads Medecins sans Frontieres operations in Chad.

At least 15 people, mostly Sudanese refugees, were injured in the bombing and were being treated at a hospital in Tine run by MSF, known in English as Doctors Without Borders, he said.

Sudanese officials were not immediately available for comment, but Francoys said Sudanese government forces had regained control of the Sudanese side of Tine.

Peace talks have reached their final stages to end Sudan’s 21-year civil war between the Islamic government and rebels in the south of Africa’s largest nation. But a smaller insurgency in the western Darfur region, along the border with Chad, has worsened in recent months.

Aid groups say the violence has forced more than 600,000 people to flee their homes, with an estimated 95,000 refugees in Chad.

The rebels and refugees accuse the government of deliberately bombing villages in Sudan and using militias to ransack towns and villages, allegations the government denies.

Thursday in Geneva, the United Nations’ acting High Commissioner for Human Rights, Bertrand Ramcharan, called on all sides in Darfur to cease fighting. He said systematic human rights abuses against unarmed civilians have been reported in the region.