Three dead as Darfur rebels attack Jemet: gouvernor

CAIRO, Aug 17 (AFP) — Three people were killed in Sudan’s North Darfur State as rebels launched an attack on civilian targets in the town of Jemet, the Sudanese press Tuesday quoted state governor Osman Yusuf Kibir as saying.

He also reported a second attack, in Messaoula, but gave no details of casualties and did not name the rebel group responsible for either attack.

“There have been new rebel attacks in Jemet and Messaoula, the first of which left three civilians dead,” Kibir said, according to the daily newspaper Akhbar Al-Youm.

He said it was the 76th rebel violation of the ceasefire agreement signed last April 8 with central government.

Kibir also claimed: “Chadians have enlisted with the rebels” along with “Sudanese resident in Libya” but declined to blame the Ndjamena government for the Chadians’ presence.

Since February 2003 Darfur has been the centre of conflict between government forces and two rebel movements and the United Nations is pressing Khartoum to bring the situation there under control.

The government stands accused of arming and backing the Arab Janjaweed militia in a campaign against the black, non-Arab African population.

The conflict, described by UN agencies as the trigger for currently the world’s worst current humanitarian crisis, has claimed up to 50,000 lives and driven more than a million people from their homes.

Tens of thousands have fled across the border into neighbouring Chad.