Rebels say 200 killed civilians in militia attacks in south Sudan

NAIROBI, May 10 (AFP) — The main rebel group in Sudan on Monday claimed that 204 civilians have been killed in the south of the country over the last few days in renewed fighting with government forces and Khartoum-backed militias.

“I can confirm that there has been fighting around Akobo (on the border with Ethiopia). Our sources on the ground indicate that 204 civilians were killed,” Sudan People’s Liberation Army’s (SPLA) spokesman George Garang told AFP by phone.

There was no independent confirmation of the death toll but humanitarian sources told AFP there had been fighting in the area and that wounded civilians had been evacuated to a hospital in Lokichoggio, a Kenyan town on the Sudanese border that serves as a base for humanitarian operations in southern Sudan.

The SPLA spokesman stressed that the alleged ceasefire violation would not lead the SPLA to walk out of crucial peace talks with Khartoum, which have been going on in Kenya since 2002 and are nearing a conclusion.

The town of Akobo has changed hands between the SPLA and a pro-Khartoum militia group several times since a ceasefire was signed in October 2002.

“The attack is a campaign by the government to control Akobo and other towns near the Ethiopian, Ugandan and Kenyan borders, before a peace agreement is signed,” said Garang.

“SPLA figters and civilians are prepared to respond to any other attack since we are getting information that the militias are advancing (again) slowly to Akobo,” he added.