Sudan govt accuses rebels of increasing attacks on major roads in Darfur

By MOHAMED OSMAN, Associated Press Writer

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Dec 5, 2004 (AP) — A Sudanese official accused rebels in Darfur Sunday of trying to isolate the main towns in the region by increasing attacks on major roads and warned that the government could not “tolerate” ongoing attacks.

Sudan Liberation Army rebels speed through the desert east of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state November 8, 2004.

State minister Ahmed Haroon said rebels have killed 98 civilians and attacked over 200 trucks in the 8 months since a cease-fire agreement was signed, roughly the same amount of casualties in the 15 months prior to the agreement.

“The policy, we understand, is aimed at strangling the main towns in Darfur,” said Haroon, who said the rebels were looting vehicles on the roads to feed their troops.

Sudan’s government is accused of mobilizing an Arab militia known as the Janjaweed for attacks on Darfur’s non-Arab villagers in retaliation for uprisings launched by two rebel movements in February 2003.

Since March alone, disease, hunger and other hardships brought on by war in Darfur have killed more than 70,000 of the 1.8 million people who fled from their homes. The United Nations calls the situation in Darfur the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

“The rebels seem to not be keen on committing themselves to the accords they signed,” said Haroon. “Although we are committed to the letter to the agreements and protocols … the state could not be expected to tolerate this nonsense.”

In a separate conflict, Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir said Sunday his country is still heading toward a peace deal with rebels in the south. The government and the rebels, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, are pledged to meet a Dec. 31 deadline for a permanent settlement.