Darfur rebels accuse Khartoum of bombing three villages

LIBREVILLE, July 1 (AFP) — The Sudanese air force on Thursday bombed three villages in Darfur, a spokesman for one of the rebel groups fighting the Khartoum government and an allied militia in the western part of Sudan said.

“The bombing raids were still continuing at midday and we don’t know yet if there were any victims,” Colonel Abdallah Abdel Kerim of the rebel Equality and Justice Movement (MJE) told AFP in Libreville by telephone.

He said three Antonov aircraft had bombed the towns of Lobodou, Mahadjiriya and Samfodo, around 70 kilometers (42 miles) east of Nyala, capital of South Darfur.

The accusations come as UN Secretary General Kofi Annan visited Darfur, which the United Nations has described as having the worst humanitarian situation in the world.

Annan’s visit to the war-torn region was preceded by one day by US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who delivered a stern warning to Khartoum to ease the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

At least 10,000 people have been killed in Darfur since fighting broke out in the western Sudanese region in February last year, when black African rebel groups rose up against the government in Khartoum.

The Sudanese government’s response was to give an Arab militia, the Janjawid, a free rein in cracking down on the rebels. The Janjawid have been accused of conducting a scorched earth policy and committing “ethnic cleansing” in Darfur.

One million people have been displaced within the region and at least 120,000 refugees have poured into neighbouring Chad.

Darfur rebels and the Khartoum government signed a ceasefire on April 8, but have since accused each other of repeatedly violating the pact.

Pro-Khartoum militias have also been accused of attacking towns and villages inside Chad, bringing a sharp response from Ndjamena and a warning of the possible consequences.

“If the raids are not brought under control, we will take measures to guarantee the security of refugees and Chadians who live in these regions,” Chadian President Idriss Deby warned on Wednesday.

The UN’s World Food Programme said Thursday the ceasefire has largely held, but marauding militias have continued attacks on civilians.