Sudanese militia killed 45 villagers, rebels say

CAIRO, May 23 (AFP) — Forty-five Sudanese were killed in a recent attack on a village by pro-government militiamen in Darfur, the main rebel group in the troubled western region said Sunday.

The Arab militia known as the Janjaweed, which has been accused of atrocities, attacked Abquarajel village Thursday, a senior Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) member, Mohamed Mersal, told AFP by telephone here.

Another 10 people were wounded in the attack on the village located 15 kilometres (almost 10 miles) south of Nyala, the capital of Southern Darfur state, he said.

The SLM claimed the attack took place after a meeting between President Omar al-Beshir and the Janjaweed chiefs in the state. Beshir travelled to Nyala on Wednesday and said he was determined to resolve the Darfur conflict.

The conflict in Darfur, a region neighboring Chad, started in February 2003. Government troops and pro-government Arab militias have faced off against non-Arab Muslim rebels.

The violence has killed 10,000, displaced one million people within Sudan and pushed 100,000 people into Chad, according to the UN, which calls it the world’s worst current humanitarian crisis.

Both the rebels and the Khartoum have accused one another of violating a ceasefire, while the government continues to manipulate access for aid workers and supplies to the region.