15 killed, six wounded in Darfur violence : UN

KHARTOUM, Dec 1 (AFP) — An outbreak of violence in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region this week has left 15 civilians dead and six wounded, Radhia Achouri, spokeswoman for the United Nations envoy to Sudan said.

A rebel of the for Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), fighting Arab militias, smokes a cigarette, July 2004 in the northern part of the western Sudanese Darfur region. (AFP).

She said armed tribesmen on Tuesday attacked a village outside the town of Tawilla in northern Darfur, which used to host people displaced by the 22-month-old conflict between government forces and rebels.

The raid followed an attack on Tawilla on November 22 by rebels of the Sudan Liberation Movement, which along with the Justice and Equality Movement have been fighting for greater political and economic autonomy from Khartoum.

Achouri told reporters the worst fighting took place on Saturday, when armed tribesmen attacked four villages some 15 kilometers (nine miles) north of Tawailla, including Debebat and Kunja, and looted property.

The attack on the villages around the Kossa hill left 15 civilians dead and six others injured, according to Achouri, adding that the African Union observer mission in Darfur was investigating the incident.

In South Darfur State, uniformed men on camelback on Saturday stopped eight commercial trucks about 25 kilometers from the capital, Nyala, commandeering four of the trucks, Achouri said.

She added that certain parts of western Darfur remained off-limits to aid workers due to the security situation in the area.

Gunmen reportedly attacked villages in the nearby Jebel Moon area and fled with 300 heads of cattle.

Achouri noted there had otherwise been a semblance of calm in Tawilla over the past two days and between 2,000 and 3,000 internally displaced persons as well as UN agencies were gradually returning to the area.