Sudanese rebels attack convoy of Nigerian pilgrims

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Nov 6, 2004 (PANA) — A group rebels in western Sudan’s civil war ravaged Darfur region on Wednesday allegedly attacked a convoy of 187 Nigerian pilgrims at Khor-Tawila area in North Darfur State, the government-owned Sudan News Agency reported Saturday.

According to SUNA, a Nigerian child girl and two Sudanese drivers were killed in that incident. Apart from beating the pilgrims, the assailants also looted the their properties.

The state-owned agency quoted Ahmed Osman Amado, one of the
pilgrims, who was seriously wounded in the attack, as saying that 21 armed rebels had attacked them.

Amado said it was shameful for Darfur rebels to launch an assault on the Nigerian pilgrims in the holy month Ramadan for the second time.

He said that his group informed the Sudanese police of the attack and submitted a complaint to the African Union (AU) cease-fire monitoring mission in Darfur region.

Last month, rebels in Darfur reportedly attacked two convoys of Nigerian pilgrims at Tawila in North Darfur State.

Darfur is reeling in conflict since February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the smaller Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) launched an armed rebellion, claiming that the government in Khartoum had neglected people in their mostly desert region.

A Khartoum government delegation is currently engaged in
negotiations with the SLM and JEM in Abuja, Nigeria.