SLA rebels attack government convoy in western Sudan, killing 150 soldiers
By ANDREW ENGLAND, Associated Press Writer
NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 21, 2004 (AP) — Rebels fighting a yearlong insurgency in western Sudan ambushed an army convoy, killing 150 soldiers and destroying 10 trucks and a tank, a rebel spokesman said Saturday.
Some 200 rebels of the Sudan Liberation Army, armed with small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and artillery, attacked the convoy of 700 soldiers Friday travelling near Khazan Gadid town in south Darfur region, SLA spokesman Hassan Mandela said.
Five rebels were killed in the fighting, which lasted for several hours, Mandela told The Associated Press by satellite telephone from south Darfur.
It was not possible to independently verify the information. Government officials could not be immediately contacted for comment.
When asked why the rebels suffered so few casualties, Mandela said: “It’s our land, we know the place, where to place our ambushes.”
Fighting between two rebel groups — the SLA and Justice and Equality Movement — the army, and government-backed militia, has forced more than 600,000 people to flee their homes in Darfur and killed hundreds, aid agencies estimate.
On Feb. 9, Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir said the military was “in full control” of the Darfur, a dirt-poor region bordering Chad, and offered amnesty to surrendering rebels. But the rebels rejected el-Bashir’s offer and said they were still fighting.
Mandela said the rebels had changed their tactics, moving out of towns and villages they controlled in a bid to prevent civilians being targeted by government forces.
The rebels and refugees have accused the government of bombing towns and villages and sending in militia to kill and loot from civilians. The government has denied the allegations.
“Our strategy now is to block roads and fight groups of army. We attack towns to chase the army away and then leave the towns,” Mandela said.
He said government forces were, however, still bombing villages inhabited by Africans.
The government-backed militiamen are drawn from Sudan’s Muslim, Arab population. The rebels in Darfur, although Muslim, are black Africans, often of mixed Arabic ancestry. They claim to have more than 20,000 fighters.
On Wednesday, Amnesty International said it had received reports of “horrifying attacks” against civilians in Darfur by government forces. The London-based group also accused the rebels of attacking and looting from civilians.
The insurgency began last February and has intensified as peace talks between the government and southern rebels fighting a 21-year-long civil war have inched toward their conclusion. Those talks, staged in Kenya, resumed on Tuesday.
But the talks do not include the Darfur rebels, who say they are fighting for a share power and wealth in Africa’s largest country — the same as the southern insurgents. Analysts have warned that the rebellion in Darfur could derail the peace process between the government the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, the southern rebels.