Darfur rebels attack convoy, police-Sudan official
By Opheera McDoom
NYALA, Sudan, Dec 15 (Reuters) – Darfur rebels attacked a government troop convoy in recent days and are using a presence in at least one refugee camp to target police, a Sudanese governor said on Wednesday.
“The rebels are present at Kalma (camp) now because they attacked our police four times,” said Al-Hajj Attar al-Manan, the governor of South Darfur state.
Rebels, who launched their rebellion in early 2003, have also accused the government of violating a ceasefire agreement reached in April and suspended peace talks in Nigeria with the government after accusing it of launching a new offensive.
The United Nations, which has described a deteriorating security situation in Sudan’s vast western region, has urged both sides to respect the civilian status of the camps.
Mediators at talks in the Nigerian capital Abuja said on Wednesday Khartoum had agreed to halt its offensive. There was no immediate comment from officials in Khartoum.
But Manan said authorities in South Darfur had taken steps to halt attacks by Arab militias by arresting dozens of members of the Janjaweed.
The Janjaweed are blamed for much of the killing and raping in Darfur. Rebels say they are supported by the government, but Khartoum denies the charge and calls them outlaws.
“We arrested so many members of the Janjaweed — more than 70 persons from the Janjaweed are now at the prison of Nyala and will be committed to the court,” he said.
He called on the international community to help disarm all the Darfur tribes, saying guns were easy to obtain because of previous conflicts in neighbouring countries.
Manan said there was suspicious activity in Otash and Direij camps but said he could not confirm a rebel presence there. Some government aid officials have in the past accused rebels of infiltrating camps with their weapons.
Manan said those camps on the outskirts of Nyala were scheduled to be relocated to better facilities away from Nyala, while Kalma camp was due to be relocated because it was on private land and was a security hazard near to Nyala airport.
Past relocation efforts by the government have met with resistance from camp residents who say they fear for their lives if they are moved.
Manan also denied reports government planes had bombarded from the air Marla last week.
“No there is no utilising of Antonov planes,” he said. “Our evidence is that the rebels burned this village.”
Aid agencies working in the town were evacuated after fighting broke out between government forces and rebels on Dec. 9. Sources in the aid community earlier said African troops monitoring the ceasefire had privately confirmed the aerial bombardment, but monitors have not made any public comments.
After years of tribal conflict over scarce resources in arid Darfur, rebels took up arms accusing Khartoum of neglect and of using the Janjaweed to loot and but non-Arab villages.
More than 1.6 million people have fled their homes in Darfur since the start of the conflict, and the United Nations calls Darfur one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.