Eight civilians killed by rebels in Darfur

KHARTOUM, Sep 24, 2004 (Xinhua) — Rebels have attacked civilians in Kordofan in Sudan’s western Darfur region, leaving eight dead, the Sudanese Interior Ministry said in a statement Friday.

The statement said the rebels attacked a police station, security offices, a bank and a market in the town of al-Geibash in the West Kordofan state on Wednesday.

Eight people were killed and an unspecified number sustained injuries, according to the statement.

The ministry added the attack followed a series of aggressions by the rebels targeting civilians despite the ceasefire agreement they signed with the Sudanese government on April 4, 2004.

Speaker of the Sudanese Parliament Ahmed Ibrahim Taher said, ” Rebels in Darfur have become highway men without any political thesis.”

The Sudanese English-language newspaper Khartoum Monitor on Friday quoted Taher as saying the government seeks to expand the security areas in the Darfur region.

“The government is committed to work for stability and security of the people in Darfur despite the current situation in Sudan,” the parliament speaker said.