U.N. points at rebels for Darfur aid workers’ deaths

KHARTOUM, Dec 15 (Reuters) – The United Nations said on Wednesday initial indications suggested one of the rebel groups in Sudan’s western Darfur region was involved in the killing of two employees of a British charity this week.

Sudan Liberation Army rebels cheer as they speed across the desert east of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state November 8, 2004. (Reuters).

U.N. spokeswoman Radhia Achouri also said the African Union, which has ceasefire monitors in the area, would carry out an investigation into the killings of the two Sudanese aid workers in South Darfur state on Sunday.

“The African Union will carry out an investigation into the incident … There are indications of involvement by the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA),” Achouri told reporters in Khartoum.

The two employees of Save the Children UK were killed on Sunday when their convoy came under fire south of the state’s main town, which has seen fierce fighting between tribal militias and government and rebel forces in recent weeks.

After years of conflict over scarce resources, rebels took up arms early last year accusing the Khartoum government of neglect and of arming Arab militias, called Janjaweed, to loot and burn non-Arab villages.

Khartoum says it mobilised some militias to fight the rebellion but denies any links to the Janjaweed, calling them outlaws.

There are more than 800 international aid workers and 5,000 local staff working in Darfur, which the United Nations says is suffering one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Two workers from Save the Children UK, which is one of the area’s largest food distributors, were killed in October when their vehicle hit a landmine which AU officials later blamed on rebel forces.