UN condemns Sudan rebel attacks in Darfur, calls for halt to all fighting

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — The United Nations has condemned a rebel attack in Darfur province, saying it violates a cease-fire agreement and jeopardises the lives of tens of thousands of people who will not receive aid because of the fighting.

The rebel Sudan Liberation Army and government forces should “halt all fighting immediately” in the western province of Darfur, the chief U.N. envoy to Sudan, Jan Pronk (photo), said in a statement issued late Tuesday.

The government says attacks by the Sudan Liberation Army on camps for displaced people in south Darfur on Monday killed 25 people — 22 policemen, a medical worker and two civilians.

U.N. officials confirmed that rebels attacked the Kalma refugee camp in south Darfur, which houses thousands of people displaced by the 21-month conflict.

Government-backed militias, known as Janjaweed, and SLA rebels began fighting Sunday in the north Darfur town of Tawilla, forcing the African Union mission to rescue 45 aid workers Monday. An aid group said a government plane bombed the town.

In his statement, Pronk said the rebel attack on Tawilla was “a clear violation of the recently signed Abuja security protocol” — a pledge to cease hostilities signed by the rebels and the government in the Nigerian capital on Nov. 9.

Pronk also said the attack “places tens of thousands of civilians at risk” as it would prevent the delivery of humanitarian aid to camps for displaced people in the vicinity of the fighting.

His statement said the fighting had already forced the suspension of humanitarian activities in parts of Darfur.

Turning to the fighting in south Darfur, Pronk said he condemned “in the strongest terms the killing of policemen and civilians around Kalma camp.”

Pronk said that in the agreements they signed in Abuja, the warring parties “committed themselves to refrain from all hostilities and military actions.”

“I fully expect them to live up to their obligations,” Pronk added.

The conflict in Darfur, which the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, began in February 2003 when the SLA and allied Justice and Equality Movement took up arms against what they saw as years of state neglect and discrimination against Sudanese of African origin. The government responded with a counter-insurgency campaign in which the Janjaweed, an Arab militia, has committed widescale abuses against the African population.

International agencies estimate that the fighting, as well as attendant disease and malnutrition, have killed more than 70,000 people and driven more than 1.6 million people from their homes.