Thousands flee fighting in western Sudan

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Aug 16, 2003 (AP) — Thousands of people have fled their homes to escape the latest outbreak of fighting between government and rebel troops in western Sudan, according to newspaper reports Saturday.

Two weeks of fighting around the town of Kutum has caused about 10,000 people to seek refuge 90 kilometers (60 miles) away in the provincial capital Al-Fashir, Sulaf el-Din Saleh, representative of the governmental Humanitarian Relief Agency, told the daily Al-Khartoum.

The current round of fighting erupted Aug. 1 when armed men began attacking the residents of the city, Darfur state authorities said in a statement Saturday.

Earlier this month Sudan and neighboring Chad said that they would work together to end the rebellion in Darfur province, which borders Chad.

In February, a group calling itself the Darfur Liberation Front attacked Sudanese government troops in the Jabal Mara mountains and asked the government for the right of self-determination as well as development and large amounts of aid for the long-neglected region, which is often struck by severe drought and where local tribes have been fighting each other for years.

It was not clear whether the latest round of fighting was related to the Darfur Liberation Front.

The Sudanese government is trying to negotiate an end to a bloody 20-year conflict in the south that has killed 2 million and displaced 4.5 million people. The government has repeatedly said it will not open talks with the new rebel group.