Sudan’s Darfur rebels release 20 soldiers, police

By PAUL GARWOOD, Associated Press Writer

CAIRO, Egypt, Nov 17, 2004 (AP) — Sudanese rebels have released 15 government soldiers and five policemen captured during fighting in the war-ravaged Darfur region, an African Union official said Wednesday.

Prisoners of war from the Sudanese army wait under rebel guard to be handed over to African Union officials in the mountain village of Deribat in South Darfur November 16, 2004. (Reuters).

Maj. William Molokwane said the rebel Sudan Liberation Army released the 20 to the African Union Monday and Tuesday and officially handed them over Wednesday to Sudanese government officials in the North Darfur state capital of El Fasher.

Molokwane, a spokesman for the African Union cease-fire monitoring force in Sudan, said the men, some of whom had been in captivity since February, had been held in Jebal Marra, a mountainous region in West Darfur state.

Molokwane, speaking by telephone from Darfur, said the prisoners were released in line with agreements reached in Nigeria last week between Sudanese rebel and government leaders.

Sudanese government officials were not immediately available for comment.

Sudan’s Arab-dominated government and pro-government Arab tribal fighters, known as the Janjaweed, are accused of launching coordinated attacks on non-Arab farmers after two non-Arab rebel groups rose up in February 2003. Sudan denies targeting civilians or allying with the Janjaweed militia.

The United Nations says the Darfur conflict has created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with least 70,000 people dead since March in the region because of disease, hunger and hardships from being uprooted. Many more have been killed in fighting since the conflict started, but no firm estimate exists.

The conflict has also driven 1.8 million people from their homes.

Humanitarian aid groups working in Sudan have said the security situation in the country’s three Darfur states has worsened.

In a sign of the continuing insecurity raging throughout Darfur, U.N. spokesman George Somerwill told reporters in Khartoum on Wednesday that 16 people have been killed since Nov. 9 in clashes involving militias, military and rebel forces.

Somerwill also said that five of 18 Arab tribesmen kidnapped late last month by the Sudan Liberation Army near the West Darfur town of Zaleinge have been released.

The U.N. official said African Union peacekeeping forces will try to return to the Jebal Marra mountain area where the remaining hostages are being held to try to win their freedom.

The initial kidnappings of the 18 men, mostly Arab students, sparked clashes in the Zaleinge area between angry Arab tribes people and African villagers living in displaced people’s camps.

Paula Claycomb, spokeswoman for the U.N. children’s fund, said continuing violence was also preventing a vaccination program from reaching all children in Jebal Marra.

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Associated Press writer Mohamed Osman contributed to this report from Khartoum, Sudan.