Darfur rebels ambush Sudanese troops; govt bombs villages

N’DJAMENA, Chad, Feb 23, 2005 (AP) — Rebels ambushed Sudanese troops and Sudan’s military bombed and destroyed eight villages in Darfur, officials said Wednesday, detailing the latest reported violations of a largely ignored cease-fire in the western region of Sudan .

Sudan Liberation Army rebel patrolling the desert west of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. (Ruters) .

The rebel ambush reportedly took place Tuesday in Graida, a town about 100 kilometers south of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, one of the three states that make up Darfur, a region roughly the size of France, said Ahmat Allam-mi, a member of a commission monitoring the cease-fire.

The government has reported the attack to the commission, but African Union monitors in Darfur haven’t yet been able to investigate the report, said Allam-mi, who is also an adviser to Chadian President Idriss Deby.

The Justice and Equality Movement, one of Darfur’s two main rebel groups, said on its Web site Wednesday that the military has in the last four days bombed and completely destroyed eight villages in Darfur. No other details of the attacks were provided, and it was not immediately possible to independently verify the report.

It was not clear if the bombing was reported to cease-fire monitors.

Darfur has been torn by conflict since February 2003, when rebels from the region’s ethnic African tribes took up arms, complaining of discrimination by the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum. A pro-government Arab militia launched a counterinsurgency in which thousands have been killed. An estimated 2 million people have been displaced by the fighting.

Chad and the AU have mediated peace talks between the government and rebels.

African leaders last week urged the government and all Darfur’s rebel groups to show AU monitors their positions so the cease-fire, signed in April, can be enforced.

The Justice and Equality Movement, however, rejected the suggestion, and Allam-mi said Wednesday that the group could be excluded from future peace talks.

The rebel group “is putting itself against the peace process…we appeal to them to reconsider their position,” said Allam-mi. “Otherwise the international community and Chad could consider the option to exclude them from the peace process.”

Allam-mi said Chadian and AU mediators will meet in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, Thursday to work on a program to get peace negotiations back on track in mid-March.

He didn’t say how long the Abuja meeting will last.

The most recent round of Darfur peace talks began Dec. 11, but rebels boycotted meetings with government delegates two days later, alleging a new government offensive, and the talks broke down within weeks.