Chadian soldiers kill 69 Sudanese Arab militiamen

N’DJAMENA, Chad, June 18, 2004 (AP) — Soldiers killed 69 Sudanese Arab militiamen who had crossed the border from neighboring Sudan to raid a Chadian village near the border, the communications minister said Friday.

The attack in Birak, 6 kilometers from the border, on Thursday is likely to strain relations between Sudan and Chad, which has been leading efforts to end a 16-month rebellion in the Darfur region of neighboring western Sudan .

During the clash the army also captured two of the militia, known as janjaweed and who are fighting in the war in Darfur, said Mouckhtar Wawa Dahab.

Dahab said he had no details of Chadian casualties or any more information on the attack.

On May 9 hundreds of Sudanese Arab militiamen raided a village inside Chad, sparking fighting between the gunmen and the Chadian army that killed dozens of civilians, 60 of the militia and one Chadian army officer.

More than 110,000 Sudanese have fled to eastern Chad, but the Arab militia has been conducting cross-border raids for months, stealing livestock and terrorizing Sudanese refugees and Chadian civilians.

Two Darfur rebel groups – the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement, drawn from black African tribes which have traditionally inhabited the area – took up arms in February 2003, saying they were fighting for a greater share of Sudan ‘s wealth and power for their impoverished region.

Chadian President Idriss Deby has been leading mediation efforts to end the conflict and on April 8, the warring parties signed a cease-fire agreement to allow humanitarian agencies into the area at talks in N’djamena, the Chadian capital.

Both the rebels and the government promised to observe a cease-fire to let humanitarian aid reach the region but raids by the Sudanese Arab militia have continued.